Rooftops
by Hotshot
Summary: A seventeen year old Michael is spending a little more than a month in New York with his uncle.  With Brian back home in Pittsburgh Michael meets New York native, Ben, and the two find that they have a lot in common.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Now mine, I could list all the people and companies who own them but really, that takes up farr too much space.

One Night in New York

Chapter 1

Hotshot

* * *

Michael dug through his uncle's liquor cabinet, desperate in all of his seventeen-year-old glory to forget about life for the entire night. All that Vic had was that strong shit that Brian liked. Michael couldn't stand the stuff, the way it burned his throat and had such a quick effect on him. 

He growled, slamming the cabinet shut and hurried toward the kitchen. He opened the fridge and sighed in relief, a full six pack of beer sat on the shelf.

He grabbed it, completely unashamed of the fact that Vic would notice it missing later.

Vic was a gay man, and one who had grown up with his mother at that, so he would understand. It was Michael's first night in New York for the summer and Vic had picked him up at the bus station, dropped him off at the apartment and gone out for the night with nothing but a less than stern reminder to behave himself.

So here he was.

Things were so fucked, he thought to himself as he climbed the stairs of Vic's apartment building to the roof, the one where Vic tended to pitch bottle caps down at late-night passersby.

His mother was on his case about absolutely everything; his schoolwork, his friends, his love life, well, particularly his lack thereof.

Brian was no help. He had a job for the summer, one that kept him busy. As Brian put it he was the bitch at the art department of some advertising firm. He ran around from the second he got there in the morning until he left at night. And after that he went out. Even if Michael went with him he only had a few moments worth of attention before Brian disappeared off into the abyss of the dance floor.

He'd only be staying with Vic for the month but he needed to relieve some stress.

He popped off the cap of the bottle against the edge of the roof and took a long swig. It wasn't particularly good but it was cold and it would get him relaxed.

* * *

Ben had learned to hate coming home from school. The summer was just a miserable time of year. It wasn't that he didn't love his family, he did. They just seemed to be overwhelming and far too supportive. 

He'd found his escape in a few friends from school who lived near him in the city, in the club scene, in fucking around.

He'd been avoiding his father for two days now, avoiding the discussion they had to have about his future, about the fact that they were sending him to an Ivy League school and he was majoring in something as useless as English. He couldn't help it; that was what he was drawn to. And he was good at it, god damn it. Everyone told him he had talent, but that didn't seem to be good enough.

He'd gone to a party with a few of his friends tonight, and for once watching the drugs and alcohol float around, and having a few guys cruising him, wasn't doing anything to improve his mood. He'd often found solace on the roof of his family's brownstone so he let himself out of the apartment, sure no one would notice his absence.

He pushed open the door to the roof, thankful it wasn't locked, only to step out and find that he wasn't alone. Up toward the front of the building he could see the outline of a male figure.

That was fine; there was plenty of room for both of them to vent their frustrations up here. Not paying him any heed Ben walked toward the back of the building, digging a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket. He lit one and inhaled deeply, sighing as he let out the breath. It had a calming sensation that he couldn't describe.

He looked over his shoulder as he heard the clack of glass hitting the roof, and watched as the other guy reached down and pulled another glass bottle out of something in the ground at his feet. Snapping the cap off he raised it to his lips and took a long swig.

Drinking alone?

Well, it looked like Ben wasn't the only one having a night that could have been a hell of a lot better.

He started across the roof slowly, looking the other guy over. He was young, Ben could tell that much, at least a year or two younger than himself. He had on a t-shirt and a plain, baggy pair of jeans. He was short and dark haired.

He didn't look upset but the empty look in his eyes and across his face led Ben to believe there was definitely a reason that he was up here drinking alone.

He didn't quite look familiar, but Ben couldn't count him out as another one of Brandon's guests.

Dark eyes barely glanced up at him as he reached the wall, looking back down at the street after a moment. This guy didn't react so Ben figured he wasn't going to get his head bitten off for asking a simple question.

"Mind if I have one of those?"

* * *

Michael had been watching out of the corner of his eye as this guy came out and calmly began smoking a cigarette. He didn't know many of his uncle's neighbors, and they had changed too many times over the year for him to bother trying. 

He'd been too absorbed in his own thoughts to hear the man approaching until he posed a question.

Michael turned his head and looked at the intruder on his solitude.

He couldn't help but be surprised. This guy was probably in college, but he couldn't have been that much older than Michael. He had the look of a football player about him, a little on the heavy side but a lot of that was obviously muscle.

"Sure," he said nonchalantly, turning back to staring into the empty space in front of him.

He was ready to lose himself again as he listened to the sound of a bottle being taken out of the limp cardboard box and being opened.

It wasn't until the older guy leaned against the wall next to him; arm bumping against his that Michael was startled out of his reverie once again.

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"

"Sorry," Michael replied automatically.

"Did you come up here from Brandon's party?" he asked again.

Michael shook his head, "I don't know any Brandon. I'm up here visiting my Uncle Vic for the month."

He tipped the beer he was holding, pressing the cool glass against his palm and listening to the cool liquid slosh around inside.

"Isn't your uncle going to be kind of pissed that you drank all his beer?"

Michel shrugged, "Maybe."

He looked over into his acquaintance's startlingly blue eyes as a grin stretched across his face.

"So, you're what, eighteen, nineteen?" he guessed.

"Seventeen," Michael said, surprised, as he was usually mistaken for being younger than he was. He looked up, horrible at guessing, especially when guys were staring at him like this one was.

"What about you?"

"Twenty," he replied, "as of last month."

A grin pulled at the corners of Michael's mouth. At least he wasn't the only one who shouldn't have been drinking.

This older guy seemed to sense that, and things just seemed a bit easier between them as he held out his hand, "I'm Ben."

"Michael."

* * *

Ben watched Michael downing his beer. He was young, that much could be told in a glance, but he was certainly not unattractive. Too bad he hadn't come from Brandon's party. He had no way of knowing who this kid was, what he was. Nothing that Michael had said had tipped his orientation one way or another. 

"So Michael," the name rolled easily off his tongue, "Shouldn't this uncle of yours be keeping an eye on you, instead of letting you wander aimlessly around his building and drinking all of his beer?"

Michael grinned, choking back a chuckle, "That's not exactly how my uncle works."

"Care to enlighten me?" Ben asked.

"Alright," Michael consented, reaching for Ben's still-lit cigarette and taking a drag like an old pro.

Ben watched him expectantly as he accepted it back.

"He's my mom's younger brother," Michael explained, "And every year since I was twelve my mom's sent me up to spend a month of my summer vacation with him. It's just a break from her, from all the shit that goes on back at home. And sure, when I was younger Vic took me all over the place, but he steps back a little more each year, makes me do more and more on my own, which is a lot more than I can say for my mom."

Ben chuckled. His mother had her overbearing, controlling moments too.

"What about your dad?"

"He's not in the picture," Michael said, moving on as though there was no issue there, "but uhh… this summer I got up here, this afternoon actually, and he just told me that he was going out tonight with a few friends, gave me my keys, and told me to leave him a note if I was going out."

"I guess the privacy's nice though," Ben shrugged, "and obviously he left the fridge fully stocked."

"Yeah, usually my friend Brian comes with me, but he's working this summer. I'm sure we'd be out getting into trouble, but instead I'm stuck here with nothing to do and Uncle Vic is out partying it up at The Works."

Ben's eyebrows shot up and he let his drink clang against the wall, "The Works?"

He knew that bar; he'd even been there a few times. It certainly said something about Michael's uncle.

"Yeah," Michael said, "My uncle's gay."

He didn't sound ashamed of it, not in the least. In fact he sounded more proud of his uncle than any other emotion Ben could place. And that tone put Ben at ease about something else.

"And so are you," he said to Michael.

Michael's eyes widened just a bit, but it was enough that Ben understood. He had suffered through some bad experiences coming out to people.

"Yeah," Michael finally nodded, picking up the last two beers and holding one out to Ben.

Ben smiled, accepting the drink.

"So, what about you?" Michael asked Ben, trying to shift the focus off of himself for a while. "Why'd you skip out on the party at this Brandon guy's place?"

Ben let out a chuckle, handing over the cigarette once again.

"It just gets boring, I guess," Ben admitted, "I go to school with a lot of the people, and others I've known for a while and there's only so much you can take before it gets monotonous and old,"

"Right," Michael nodded in agreement.

"But, I can't go home," Ben took a sip of the beer. It was starting to get warm, "At least not for a few more hours. Not until I'm sure my parents will be asleep."

"Avoiding them?"

"It's worked all week."

"Yeah, I'm going to be trying to do the same thing, phone-wise, all month."

Ben smiled and nodded, understanding how trying to avoid one's family worked. The two of them drank in silence, listening to the noises of the city; the cars and the people on the street below, probably some of the noise wafting up from the part on the second floor.

"I should get back," Michael said, finally breaking the silence, "You know, try to sober up a little and get to bed before my uncle gets home."

Ben tipped his head back, draining the rest of his drink before dropping the bottle to the ground where they had left the other five.

"I'll walk down with you," he said as he turned and began making his way back to the door and the stairs.

"Yeah, you should be getting back to your party." Michael seemed to be indifferent and he dropped his own bottle to follow Ben.

"Yeah," Ben agreed as he held open the door for both of them and together they walked down to the fourth floor.

Surprisingly Ben didn't continue down the stairs when they reached the floor that Vic lived on. Instead he followed Michael down the hall.

"What kind of host would I be if I didn't make sure you got home safe?" he asked, jokingly, as they walked. He'd noticed Michael's raised eyebrow as they walked.

"I'm pretty sure the fact that I'm the one who actually lives in the building makes me the host," Michael replied.

Ben smiled. He loved guys with a sense of humor. Michael would have made him laugh if it hadn't been so late, if he hadn't had an altogether shitty night before heading up to the roof. As it was he did practically live in Brandon's apartment so he could probably make an argument for living in the building.

Not paying attention he crashed, chest-first, against Michael's back as Michael stopped abruptly in front of room 401. The contact made his skin tingle and he forced himself to take a deep breath, not noticing Michael do the same.

Michael's hands shook a little as he dug into his pocket for the keys and as he and Ben stepped away from one another. He hated that his body reacted that way, making it obvious. He had never managed to be as smooth as Brian around other guys, which probably accounted for his lack of a social life.

"Well, thanks for the conversation on the roof," Michael said, "It was nice to have some company."

"Yeah, we'll have to do it again sometime," Ben agreed.

Michael immediately lowered his eyes. Right, like that would ever happen.

Ben sensed the tension and didn't say anything as Michael unlocked the door and pushed it open and prepared to go inside, turning back to bid him a simple goodnight.

Ben reached out, not sure what possessed him, placing his palm against the back of Michael's neck he pulled him forward a few steps. Using courage summoned from their conversation on the roof he bent down just a little and pressed his lips against Michael's.

Michael completely froze.

He didn't say anything as Ben pulled back and just stared after him as he turned and walked silently away.

Ben glanced back just once, only to see Michael still staring after him. As he turned back he nearly collided with an older man coming up the stairs.

"Sorry," he muttered, edging past him and hurrying down.

Back downstairs the sound of the pulsing music had faded and although there were still people in Brandon's apartment the party seemed to be winding down. Brandon opened the door when he knocked.

"Where have you been?" he asked Ben, giving him a look that obviously implied he hoped Ben had gotten laid.

"Had a few cigarettes up on the roof," Ben explained, letting him down easy, "Do you mind if I crash on your couch tonight?"

"Nah, feel free," Brandon said, picking up some empty beer cups, "I'll give you a ride home in the morning if you need."

"Thanks."

"So, you get lucky tonight?" Brandon asked, still stuck on the idea, "I didn't see you around very much."

Ben stared at him for a moment, thinking about the night that he'd had.

"Yeah," he nodded, "I guess you could say that."

"Good for you," Brandon patted him on the back as he walked by, "You know where the blankets and stuff are. I'm going to work on kicking the last few stragglers out so I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

"Who was that?" Vic asked he walked up the hall, catching sight of Michael still staring in the direction of the stairs, frozen in the doorway. 

His voice seemed to knock Michael out of his daze.

"Uhh… just some guy who I ran into. He was at a party downstairs."

"Oh," Vic glanced back down the hall, despite the fact that Ben had long since disappeared from sight, "Not too bad on the eyes, is he?"

"No, I guess not," Michael finally backed into the apartment.

Vic entered with him closing and locking the door. He was staring at Michael with interest.

"Is there something you should be telling me about?"

"Yeah right," Michael rolled his eyes. He was still a bit thrown by the kiss. Had Ben just had too much to drink? Was it some kind of strange 'thank you' from him? Had Michael just imagined the whole thing?

There was one thing of which he was certain. There was no way that this guy was gay. He was too… There almost wasn't a word for it, stereotypically straight.

"What about you?" he shifted the focus to his uncle, "you didn't bring a trick home with you."

"Well, I can't very well be myself when I need to be responsible around 'young, impressionable minds'," Vic quoted his sister.

Michael stared hard at his uncle for a moment. Maybe he wasn't as bad as Brian but he was a seventeen year old male.

"Well, I should be a good role model."

"Right, I'll remind you of that next weekend when I see half a dozen guys breeze through here."

Vic leveled a glare at his nephew, leaning forward just a bit and inhaling through his nose.

"Have you been drinking?" he asked in a mockingly parental tone.

Michael rolled his eyes and turned to walk in the direction of the guest room calling over his shoulder, "Goodnight Uncle Vic."

* * *

A/N: I really cannot just work on one project at a time. It's simply impossible for me. The next chapter of this is written. It just needs to be beta'd. I'm hard at work on the next chapter of Call Me Hunter, so that should be up relatively soon too. I do need to work out some of the rough mechanics of this story but I do have a pretty good idea as to where I want to go with it. Leave me a review telling me what you think of it. I wasn't around when the show was actually on so I don't know if there are a million more of these buried in here.

Enjoy,

Megan


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: You know the drill. If I owned them things would be a lot more interesting.

Rooftops

Chapter 2

Hotshot

* * *

Vic had noticed that Michael lacked his usual vigor and enthusiasm when he got off the bus. When it was just as bad in the morning he knew there was something going on.

Michael had gotten up late, which Vic had expected. He'd grabbed a granola bar and barely said 'good morning' to Vic before disappearing out of the apartment. He was headed to the gym three blocks away. He and Brian had gone every day over the past few summers, getting into the gym regimen that so many gay men were attracted to.

"Good workout?" he asked when Michael returned. His nephew was still drenched in sweat.

"Yeah," Michael nodded.

"You don't look too tired. You and Brian must be going on a pretty regular basis in Pittsburgh."

Michael shrugged. Brian spent his money on clothes for his job and a gym membership. Michael could barely afford that.

"When we can," he replied.

"Well, that's good. It's a good habit to get into now. What does your mom say about it?"

He was approaching a topic that he knew Michael didn't want to talk about and it showed. He shifted uneasily from foot to foot.

"We can't afford it," he said with a shrug, "but I use my money from work."

"So, in other words, she doesn't know?"

"No, I tell her that I'm going to Brian's."

"Which is probably the same excuse you give her when you and Brian go out and try to sneak into Babylon," Vic said, giving his unspoken support.

Michael finally cracked a smile, "Yeah."

"Go take a shower," Vic told him, glancing at the clock. "I'll go grab us a late lunch from that bistro downtown, and then you and I can talk about what's going on at home."

Michael nodded reluctantly. He knew that it all had to come out sooner or later, so he might as well just tell his uncle about the issues going on at home with his mother.

"Good," Vic nodded, reaching for his jacket, "I'll be back in about half an hour."

As he headed for the door Michael walked in the opposite direction, back toward the guest room.

Once his uncle was gone he sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands. This was going to be a _long _vacation.

And he knew his uncle just as well as he knew his mother. He might keep his mouth shut for a week or two but by the time he went home Deb would know all about his complaints.

He picked up the phone and dialed the number for Brian's summer job.

"I'll have the final shots up to you in five minutes," Brian's voice answered. He sounded cranky.

Michael sighed, "Hello to you too."

"Hey Mikey," he could almost hear the grin creeping into Brian's voice, "How's the city without me?"

"Not quite as boring as I'd expected."

"Really? Who is he?"

Michael sighed, "Now why do you assume that means I met someone?"

"Spill," Brian insisted.

"It's a long story," Michael replied with a grin, "and not what I was calling about."

"What's up?" Brian sounded distracted, but Michael knew that he was paying attention while he worked on his current project.

"Uncle Vic wants to talk about Mom."

"What about her?"

"He wants me to tell him about all the issues from around the end of school. You know my grades, my future, my personal life."

"I wasn't aware that you had one of those," Brian replied, shuffling papers.

"Yes, thank you so much for the reminder." Michael rolled his eyes. He had all but convinced himself that whatever had happened with Ben the night before had been a mistake, a fluke. "I don't know what to tell him."

"Tell him that your mother needs to learn to keep her nose out of other peoples' business and let you live your own life."

Those were Brian's words, and if he was here with Michael that was exactly what he would say to Vic's face, but Michael could never put his situation with his mother so bluntly, especially not with she and Vic being so close.

"I can't say that."

"Then I don't know what to tell you Mikey. Listen, I've got to get these boards upstairs, but I'll talk to you later."

"Do me a favor?" Michael requested before Brian could just hang up on him.

Brian's was reply was that the dial tone didn't immediately sound in his ear.

"Go check in on her for me, make sure she's not, like, depressed because she's alone."

Brian was quiet for a moment. When he did reply Michael could hear a strange tone creeping into his voice.

"Sure Mikey, I'll go to the diner before I go out tonight."

"Thanks Brian."

This time he was rewarded with a click of the dial-tone.

He hung up Vic's phone and grabbed a set of clean clothes.

* * *

-

"Benjamin!" His father's voice echoed up the stairs and down the length of the hall, "Come down here please!"

Ben sighed. Brandon had dropped him off a few hours ago, and he'd slipped by them without so much as a word about his not coming home the night before, or a comment that he reeked of alcohol and cigarettes.

"I'll be down in a minute," he called back.

He began piling the papers on his desk and stuffed them into a folder. This summer he had been working on a portfolio of his best writing work to send out to grad schools, and doing some historical research on literature.

He found his father in the kitchen, nursing his third cup of coffee of the day. He was sitting at the table with the mail in front of him.

"Hey Dad," he greeted, taking a seat as though nothing were wrong.

"I thought we discussed your going out," Mr. Bruckner said, raising an eyebrow at his son, "that you were going to call."

Ben nodded, "I'm sorry about last night. By the time I decided it would be best that I stay it was too late to call."

"Your mother was worried this morning."

"I don't see why the two of you worry so much. You know I'm responsible when it comes to that stuff."

"When it comes to you going out maybe," his father agreed.

He picked up a paper that had been mixed in with the mail, "But this. I thought we had come to an agreement about this."

Ben took the paper from his father. It was his grades; he'd been waiting for them for weeks now. A's mostly, and a high B in one of his upper level classes.

"Ben," he sighed, "We're paying a lot of money to send you to this school. This is ivy league son. I just hate to see you throw your life and our money away on this writing thing. You're a smart kid Ben. You've done so well in your politics and history classes. You could go into law like your uncle Jim. There's a real future in that field."

Ben sighed himself, folding the paper in his hands. He didn't know how to explain to his father that this was all he could see himself doing.

"Dad, I'm not interested in going into law. I think I might want to teach."

"Ben," he held up his hands, stopping him from talking anymore. "Ben, how do you know what you want? You're twenty years old."

"I've got to go," Ben said, standing up.

He couldn't do this right now. He didn't have the energy or the words and evidence to explain this to his father. Now that they knew the talk was going to happen he could spend a few days trying to build up his argument. If he swung his work and social schedules right he could avoid the conversation altogether.

"Benjamin," his father started to stop him.

Ben ignored him, heading toward the front door. "Sorry, I'm supposed to meet a friend this afternoon. If I don't hurry I'm going to be late."

"Benjamin," his father repeated, walking after him.

"Sorry Dad. We'll talk again later." He opened the door to find his mother coming up the front steps with groceries and flashed her a smile as he edged past her. "See you later Mom."

"Be good Ben," she told him, turning back to the house and nearly colliding with her husband. Mr. Bruckner just stared after him for a moment before walking down to the car to help his wife with the remaining groceries.

Where the hell was he supposed to go? It was one of Ben's days off for the week and as far as he knew most of his friends were either working or already getting a head start on their partying. So where could he go to escape from his parents for a little while?

His feet directed him toward Brandon's apartment, though inwardly he knew that Brandon wouldn't be home from work until nearly ten.

Christ, for all the time he spent escaping from his parents there he really should have had a key.

He caught the front door of the apartment building as someone was coming out and made his way up to Brandon's apartment _just in case_. There was no answer.

Great, the middle of the day and he had nowhere to go. He started climbing the stairs to higher floors. Smoking a cigarette always helped to calm his nerves a little, and made it much easier to figure things out.

As he reached the door to the roof he stopped, his thoughts jumping back to the previous night. Michael. That was someone who would be around.

Even more than that he had kissed Michael last night, and probably freaked the hell out of him. He started down the stairs, not quite sure what he was looking for with Michael but needing to try something to distract himself.

He walked slowly down the hall on the fourth floor, all the way second-guessing himself and questioning why he was doing this.

And then he was there, in front of room 401. Without even really thinking about it he raised his hand and knocked.

* * *

-

"Can we just stop talking about this?" Michael pleaded. He leaned his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands. He really couldn't sit here and talk about his mother all day.

"Michael, it's okay," Vic said, "we both know your mother can be a little much but you can't just let her walk all over you. You should call and her and talk to her this afternoon. But you had better do it soon. She's working the night shift."

"I don't want to talk to her," Michael said firmly.

"You need to-" Vic was interrupted by a knock at the door. He sighed and stood, pointing a finger at Michael, "Don't you go anywhere."

Vic opened the door to see a young blond man on the other side. He was familiar, but he didn't live in the building, and he was a bit too young for Vic to have picked up out at a club but…

"Hi, uhh…" he shifted his feet slightly, "Maybe I have the wrong apartment. I'm looking for Michael."

That was it, the guy he'd seen in the hall the night before.

"And you are?" he asked

"Ben?" Michael's voice echoed from the table.

Ben looked past the man in front of him to find Michael sitting at a kitchen table. His face was flushed and he looked confused at seeing Ben again. He probably hadn't expected it and to be honest Ben hadn't really expected to see him again either.

Under that, he noted, Michael looked upset over something.

"Hey Michael," he smiled pretending not to notice Michael's underlying look.

Michael didn't move so he continued on.

"And you must be his Uncle Vic. It's good to meet you. Michael told me all about you last night."

"Did he?" Vic raised an eyebrow, "Well, it's nice to meet you too Ben."

Ben nodded, "Did you forget that we had plans Michael?" he asked. Michael just looked like he needed to get out of this apartment, the same feeling Ben had felt maybe half an hour earlier when he'd left his own house.

He gave Michael a particularly meaningful look as Vic glanced back at him.

"Shit, yeah, I'm sorry. You're right I did." Michael stood up from the table. He headed toward the door, edging past his uncle. "I'll be back later Uncle Vic."

"When?"

Michael looked at Ben.

Don't worry," Ben grinned like only college-age boys could, "I'll have him home before it's late enough to cause any trouble."

Before Vic could speak again he was off, dragging Michael after him down the hall. Although he was pretty sure he'd been duped Vic stepped back and shut the door. That Michael would a have a friend in New York was a great step away from relying solely on one Brian A. Kinney. Vic wasn't going to mess with that, though in a few days he was going to call his sister about her son.

-

"So, where are we going exactly?" Michael finally asked as they exited the building. The descent of the stairs had been too full of thoughts about seeing Ben again that he hadn't thought to ask why exactly Ben was stealing him out of his uncle's care.

"I have no idea," Ben replied, "But you looked like you needed to get out of there so I thought it might be a good idea to get away from your uncle before we figured that out."

"Umm… yeah," Michael agreed, shoving his hands into his pockets, "Thanks for that."

"Don't mention it."

They walked for a moment in silence. Michael wanted to ask Ben about the night before, about the kiss, but if Ben wasn't going to bring it up he didn't want to either.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"Well, we didn't actually make plans," Michael said, "At least I don't remember that, so what are you doing here."

Ben grinned; Michael wasn't the sort of person who couldn't simply just let things go.

"Same as you I think," he said, staring down at his hands as he rubbed them together. "Started up the same old argument with my dad and just needed to get out of the house because I didn't know what to say to him. So I started walking, ended up here, even though Brandon's at work so I stopped by to see what you were up to."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Michael agreed. It hadn't been an argument with Vic but it was the same old shit.

"What do you do for fun back home, wherever that is, I don't think you said?"

"Pittsburgh," Michael replied, "I don't know. I usually just hang out with my friend Brian. We go to the gym, sneak out to go clubbing at night. Brian's just good at getting into and out of trouble."

That's pretty much what we do around here," Ben said with a grin. He didn't know what the two of them could do on the middle of the day.

Michael nodded. He knew his way around pretty well, but only the placed Vic and Brian had picked were all that familiar to him. That didn't leave many options for him.

"There's a park," Ben said, "a little less than half a mile away. We could just go sit or walk around for a few hours. To be perfectly honest there's nothing much to do until after dark."

"Yeah, it's like that at home too."

"Want to go?"

"Yeah, I guess," Michael agreed.

When they reached the park Ben directed them to a shady spot under some trees. He sat down in the grass and lit a cigarette, taking a drag and offering it to Michael.

Michael shook his head, glancing around in silence. This place was nice, and it was so startlingly different from the parts of the city that his uncle usually steered him toward.

"Ben, what's it like to grow up in the city?"

"Kind of boring actually," Ben said. He knew where Michael's question was coming from, "You learn at an early age never to let anything phase you, and you know your way around before you're old enough to drive, not that there's a need to drive."

"I guess not," Michael agreed.

Ben looked over at Michael. The look in his eyes was kind of far away. He was thinking about something, thinking hard. He took another drag off his cigarette and offered it again. This time Michael accepted.

"It's funny how much the city seems to shrink as you grow up," he continued.

This seemed to catch Michael's attention.

"Yeah, how's that?"

Ben smiled. There was a way to distract Michael from focusing on whatever had made him so upset at his uncle, and that was to keep talking.

So that's what he did. He recounted his childhood in New York, and how strange it had been to settle in at school where it was so quiet and so much less crowded. He let Michael talk about Pittsburgh, noting that almost all of his stories started with 'Brian and I.' Before they knew it the sun was going down.

Neither of them had made any move to get up and head back toward Vic's apartment, but silence settled between the two of them. Undoubtedly there were more stories and more conversations to be had, but both of them were thinking.

Ben's thoughts were finally off of his father and their conversation earlier in the afternoon. He was thinking about Michael, who was three years his junior and yet had all of these stories and experiences that mirrored Ben's own. He glanced to his side to find Michael looking at him, the dark brown eyes flicking immediately away as he was caught.

"What's on your mind?"

_Why'd you kiss me least night_ was what Michael wanted to ask but instead spilled out, "Why'd you track me down today?"

Ben shrugged, "Like I said before, you're the only person I could think of who wasn't probably at work, and you're pretty cool to hang out with Michael. Plus, you said Brian's staying in Pittsburgh this summer so I figured you could probably use a friend."

That last part was a little bit of a letdown. Michael shrugged, "I guess, but you might want to be careful."

"Why's that?"

"People will start making fun of you if they hear you're hanging out with a fag."

Ben could tell from the venom in Michael's voice that he didn't have it easy back home. He hadn't told Michael about himself yet and Michael hadn't brought up the night before so he figured Michael still assumed that he was a straight boy who had just been slightly intoxicated.

"I don't really care what people say. I've known the people around here for most of my life; they've got plenty of other ways to get under my skin."

Michael nodded.

"So this Brian guy…" Ben approached the question carefully, "You talk about him a lot. Is he your boyfriend or something?"

Michael smiled a little, "He'd kill us both if he heard you say that. No, he's just been my best friend as long as I can remember. I mean, we love each other sure, but nothing's ever happened and nothing ever will. He knows that and so do I."

He looked over at Ben and continued, "Why?"

"Dunno," Ben said with a shrug, "Well, since he's not here, what do you say you come with me to a party on Friday. Maybe you'll make some new friends for the summer."

"Okay," Michael nodded, "It'll be my first hetero social in a while but I'm sure I can stomach it."

That didn't sound anything like what Michael had said all afternoon. Ben figured someone had to have put those words in his mouth but he laughed and shook his head all the same.

"Come on," he said, standing up, "We'd better get you home before your uncle calls the cops to send out a search party."

He reached down a hand to help Michael up. Michael took hold of it, trying to ignore the tingle that shot up his arm as he pulled himself to his feet.

* * *

-

"So is this going to become a regular occurrence?" Vic asked as Michael closed the door behind him.

"What do you mean?" Michael asked.

"You avoiding your problems by sneaking out of here with Ben."

"It wasn't sneaking," Michael kicked off his shoes, looking at them as he spoke.

"I called your mother."

"I figured you would."

"You should talk to her. I'll give you a week or so to sort things out but you need to get this fixed."

"You've lived with her," Michael retorted, collapsing onto the couch, "How the hell do you tell my mother to butt out."

Vic took a seat on the arm of the couch looking down at his nephew. His own mother had been like Deb but she was certainly more protective of Michael. This wasn't going to be easy for him or her.

"So what about this Ben?" he changed the topic of conversation, raising an eyebrow, "Something I should know?"

"No," Michael shook his head, "Nothing's going on, he's straight."

"But you're going to spend time with him?"

Michael nodded, "He invited me to a party downstairs on Friday?"

Then he turned on his teenage sarcasm, "Can I go Uncle Vic? There won't be drinking or drugs or sex, I swear."

"I didn't believe that the first summer you and Brian came up here. I'm certainly not going to start now." Vic told him, "Just, don't cause too much trouble."

* * *

A/N: You know, it's funny when people add stuff to alerts, because they very rarely give feedback for it. Most of my feedback is on lj now anyway, but I'd love to hear something. Working to get a chapter or two of Call Me Hunter up before I hop back on this, but if I get stuck the next chapter is pretty much done.

Until next time,

Hotshot


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Not mine, but it's nice to still be able to stare.

* * *

Rooftops

Chapter 3

Hotshot

* * *

Ben found himself dressing for work later in the week. It was still early, but even at the early hour he was wide awake, ready to dive into his work to waste away the day. He always looked forward to the weekends, the promise of excitement and the parties his friends were always throwing.

He wandered into the kitchen, digging through the fridge for a piece of fruit to eat along with his coffee on the walk to work.

The house was so quiet at this time of morning, but he didn't hear anything moving.

"Sweetheart."

He jumped backward at the sound of his mother's voice, hand going to chest.

"Jesus Mom," he gasped, "Don't sneak up on someone this time or morning."

"I'm sorry Ben," she said, "But you haven't been around much the past few days."

He looked at her, closing the fridge door, his fist closed around an apple. He knew why she had been trying to talk to him all week. She wanted him to sit and talk, have a reasonable conversation with his father.

He couldn't. He felt that his father couldn't be reasonable about it either. Ben understood where his father was coming from but his father did not even try to understand what he said, so there was no point in talking.

"I've been busy," he told her.

"Mmhmm…" she nodded, "busy avoiding your father. Don't think I haven't noticed."

"He has an unfair advantage," Ben mumbled, "My reasoning isn't strong enough, and I know that, but he won't even listen to me, or even let me build up a decent argument."

He moved past his mother to the coffee pot, pouring the steaming liquid into a travel mug. He wasn't going to let a conversation with his mother make him late.

"He just wants what's best for you."

"He doesn't know what's best for me."

"Benjamin," she clearly didn't like his tone.

"Sorry," he shook his head. This was the reason he had avoided the house all week, hiding out at Brandon's, or another friend's place, usually swinging by Michael's uncle's apartment at some point, even if just for an hour or so.

"I just feel like he doesn't listen to me, Mom," Ben said, "I've got to work up to a place where I can reason with him before I talk to him."

His mother nodded, "I'll talk to him Ben. But in a week you had better be ready to talk to him."

She reached up to fix his hair a bit.

"Promise me."

"I've got to get to work, Mom," Ben excused himself. Picking up the coffee cup he headed quickly out the front door.

* * *

-

Work was a café that he and his friends had frequented during high school. Ben had been working the front counter since his senior year, and occasionally ducked out back to cook. They were working on teaching him everything this summer so that he could fill in for just about everyone.

Letting himself in through the backdoor he waved hello to the cooks who seemed to be wide awake, and the owner, a short little blonde woman, running around out front.

"Morning Joan," he said brightly, pouring himself another cup of coffee.

"Morning Ben, get to work," she said, hurrying past him and back to the storeroom for more place settings.

He grinned and started popping muffins out of the trays and setting them up in the displays.

"Hey Bruckner, unlock the door," Tino yelled from the kitchen as the clock hit seven-thirty.

Ben flipped the sign and walked back behind the counter, making a green tea which he handed off to Joan without a word, and pouring variations of coffee for the half dozen regulars who walked in the door just in time to receive their orders. That was what he loved about this place. It was a little hole-in-the-wall in this huge city. Most people didn't know about it unless you told them and the clientele was pretty regular.

He was surprised when his mother didn't stop by on her way to work as she usually did but figured it probably had something to do with their exchange in the kitchen that morning.

Near eleven Brandon came in on his way to work.

"Benny-boy," he called happily, "how goes the sandwich-making?"

"Not too bad, I'll get out early." Ben said with a shrug, "So, what can I get you?"

"Hmm…" Brandon perused the board for a moment, "Classic Reuben today, I think."

"No problem."

Ben glanced around. Business was slow, as it typically was on weekdays. He nodded for Brandon to come stand with him as he made the sandwich.

"What's up?" Brandon asked, leaning on the barrier at the front of the counter.

"Still having that party tomorrow night, right?"

"Of course I am," Brandon grinned. "Have you ever known me to cancel a party? What, you want to sleep on the couch again?"

"Umm… maybe, but that's not exactly why I was asking."

"Ask away," Brandon invited him, running his fingers through his short, dark hair.

"I was wondering if I could bring a friend with me."

"A friend?" Brandon raised an eyebrow. "Someone I know?"

"Maybe," Ben shrugged. "His name's Michael. He's staying in an apartment on the fourth floor for most of July. We've been hanging out a lot over the past few days when I've had time off."

"Vic Grassi's nephew?" Brandon asked, "Isn't he in high school or something?"

"He's going to be a senior this year."

Eyebrows went up, "Robbing the cradle are we?"

"It's nothing like that," Ben said, "We're just friends. You know, it's nice to have someone who doesn't have to work and can actually relate to all the shit going on with my parents this summer."

"Ah, the young and their daddy-drama," Brandon teased.

"You want me to drop your sandwich on the floor before I hand it to you?" Ben asked.

"Yeah man, you can bring him. As long as Vic isn't going to come down and kick my ass for serving the kid beer I don't care that much."

"Good," he tossed the wrapped sandwich over the divider at his friend. "Get out of here or you're going to be late for work."

* * *

-

Michael walked quickly down the street on his way home from the gym. He could use Vic's membership so he found himself going every morning when Vic was either working or staying around the house.

He had to pick up lunch at a café several blocks from his workout. He didn't remember the place but Vic had said he'd been there several years before and called in an order for them.

He saw the bright green sign that marked the entrance before he saw anything else, and when he stepped inside he stopped dead in his tracks.

"So, is this your other favorite spot for avoiding your parents?" he asked.

"Hey," Ben smiled as he turned around, "Who let you in on this little escape?"

"My uncle," Michael said with a shrug, "Do you have an order back there for Grassi?"

"Grassi," Ben turned and began looking through the bags on a shelf. "Here we go."

"Thanks," Michael dug the money Vic had given him out of his pocket.

"Not a problem," Ben guaranteed, actually taking a good look at Michael as he rang up the order and took the money, "You on your way back from the gym or something?"

"Yeah, might as well take advantage of Vic's membership while I'm here."

Ben nodded, "Yeah, I think I'll get over there for a while after I get out of here today."

Mentally Michael was drooling over the idea of seeing Ben at the gym. Trying to keep a straight face he nodded.

"So, tomorrow night, what's up with that?"

"The party is at Brandon's place, the guy living two floors down from you. It's room 205, but I'll come up to your place when I get there. You sure your uncle doesn't mind you going with all the drinking and shit that'll probably be going on?"

Michael grinned, with a slight nod. "Like I said the other day, Brian and I probably get in more trouble in Pittsburgh than I could get in here."

"Don't say that until you've been to one of Brandon's parties." Ben said.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, I'll try to swing by a little early, guarantee Vic I won't bring you home too drunk."

"Shh… not so loud," Michael laughed, starting to back away from the counter.

"See you later Michael."

"Bye Ben," he replied, slipping out the door.

There was no one else in line to order so Ben just stared after him for a moment.

"I'll admit he has a cute little ass, but stop staring sweetheart, you're starting to drool," Joan spoke from right behind him.

He jumped, turning back to see the small woman standing there with a grin across her face.

"I… I wasn't-"

"Right Ben," she patted his arm, "deny it a bit more."

Ben tried to stutter a reply but she disappeared back into the kitchen quickly. He just stood there at the counter. That wasn't how things were with Michael, absolutely not. He didn't have a crush, did he?

* * *

-

"What do you wear to a college party?" Michael asked, balancing the phone between his face and shoulder.

There was silence at the other end of the phone for a moment. Michael thought maybe he'd lost the connection to Pittsburgh.

"Nothing that _you_ own."

Really, he should have expected that.

"You're not helping Brian."

"Well, what did you expect, Mikey?" he asked, chuckling, "Do you really want me to drop my brutal honesty in order to be supportive?"

"In this case, yeah, it'd be nice." Michael looked around at the mess he'd made of the guest room.

"Fine then," he continued, "What, that _I own_ would be remotely acceptable to your high standards?"

Brian laughed again and Michael readied himself for further ridicule.

"Okay, let me think," Brian said, "Do you still have that plain black t-shirt, and those jeans I told you to buy?"

"Uh huh," Michael said, looking around, "Umm… somewhere."

He continued looking as he asked, "So what are you doing tonight?"

"It's Friday night."

"Never mind, how stupid of me," Michael smiled, "how's Babylon without me?"

"The same as Babylon with you, minus the annoying comments," Brian said before falling silent. Michael could just see him, standing there, admiring himself in the mirror, tweaking his outfit, just so, to make it perfect.

"So this guy," Brian finally spoke, "I want details."

"Brian, for crying out loud, I already told you. He's straight."

"Straight college jocks do not ask high school age queers to parties for no reason. Trust me Mikey, he either wants in your pants or wants to see you get your ass kicked by a bunch of his jock friends."

Michael rolled his eyes.

"The question is do you want to do him?"

"Obviously," Michael replied without thinking.

Brian was quiet for a moment.

"You are so pathetic. Seriously, you've known the guy for less than a week and you're already pining."

"Leave me alone Brian."

"So what's he look like? You need to at least give me a mental image of what you've been whacking off to since you left."

"What, so you can ridicule me some more?"

Brian's silence was affirmation enough.

Michael sighed and continued on regardless. "He's maybe a little shy of six feet, blondish, blue eyes…" he trailed off, trying to think of a way to describe Ben. "He's football-playerish, you know, like Kevin Nichols, kind of big."

"Mikey…" Brian sighed, "You could do so much better."

"Screw off Brian. He's a good guy, and he's really smart, and…" He wasn't sure what to say that Brian wouldn't absolutely grill him for.

"Okay Michael," Brian was grinning from ear to ear.

"Shut up, Brian."

"You'd just better hope I don't tell you mom," he warned, "By the way, I got an earful about how you're an ungrateful little-"

He cut off suddenly as the sound of yelling echoed from somewhere within the Kinney house. Cursing himself silently he listened to Brian yell back and the further exchange between himself and his father. By far the most audible sound was the lock on Brian's bedroom door sliding closed.

"Hey Mikey," Brian asked, "You left your bedroom window unlocked right."

"Yeah Brian, I did," Michael guaranteed. He knew Brian would never take his key even though Deb had offered one to him time and time again in the past three years.

"I want an update tomorrow, Mikey. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Brian." He hung up the phone.

Finally locating the shirt Brian had told him to wear he collapsed back across the bed sighing. The decision to go to this party with Ben had been the easiest decision he'd made all summer. Thing with Brian were strange because he felt like there was nothing he could do to help out his friend from so far away. Things with his mother… he didn't even want to comment on it.

"Michael!" Vic called, "Come have some dinner! If you're going to be drinking tonight you don't want to do it on an empty stomach."

Michael sat up and looked around his room. Okay, his priorities were definitely to eat and clean.

* * *

-

Ben knocked on the door for the fourth time that week, and as usual it was Vic who answered.

"Evening Ben."

"Hi Vic."

Vic stepped aside to let Ben into the apartment, pointing toward a room off to the left. Ben had never really come into the apartment before, as he and Michael usually went out but it was a nice place, an obvious bachelor pad.

He gave Vic a nod and started over toward the room, knocking and not waiting for a response before he opened the door.

Michael looked up and almost gasped as he caught sight of Ben. Why were some straight men so good looking? Ben wore a light blue colored shirt, buttoned up halfway and he looked… There weren't words.

"Hey, you ready to head down?" he asked.

"Yeah," Michael nodded, shoving his feet into his shoes. It was just as late as it was when he and Brian went off to Babylon back home.

"Don't get in trouble," Vic said from the door of the bathroom. He was heading out for his own night on the town.

"And don't worry about checking in when you get back."

"Thanks Uncle Vic," Michael called over his shoulder as he reached the door, "Oh, and call Ma at the diner before you head out and tell her Brian's sleeping in my room tonight."

He closed the door before Vic could reply.

Ben threw him a sideways glance as they started down the stairs.

"What was that about?"

"This place back home is closer to my place. Brian tends to just crash there when I'm home so I gave him my key while I'm away." He was lying through his teeth but it wasn't his place to talk about Brian's home life.

Ben just shrugged and knocked on the door to Brandon's apartment. He knew Michael wasn't quite being honest but wasn't going to push.

Instead he grinned widely as Brandon opened the door.

"Benny Boy!" he cheered, "It's about time you got here."

He stepped out and hugged Ben enthusiastically, pounding him on the back.

Ben smiled and greeted him, "Brandon, this is Michael."

"Good to meet you kid," Brandon shook Michael's hand, passing him a condom.

Michael laughed and discreetly slipped his hand into his pocket. Yeah, like that was going to happen tonight.

Then he stepped inside the apartment with the two of them and after a moment of looking around it hit him.

The music, the men, the lighting; it was all unusually familiar.

"Holy shit," he said simply.

Ben grinned from behind him.

"Yeah, it's never boring when Brandon throws a party."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," he gaped and Ben passed him a beer.

Ben smirked and gave a shrug, "Tell you what?"

Michael shoved him playfully. There wasn't a single woman in the place, the music and lights Brandon had going were reminiscent of Babylon, and just like the club there were several couples pushed up against the wall. It took of the pressure and made him feel so much less lost in New York without Brian.

"That you're gay."

"It's not obvious?"

Michael caught on to Ben's teasing, and shoved him again, taking a sip of his beer.

"Asshole," he laughed. Maybe tonight wasn't going to be so bad after all.

And there it was; he was welcomed into this group of people that Ben seemed so familiar and comfortable with. People introduced themselves and grabbed a drink. Michael couldn't help the smile that pulled across his face as he made himself at home.

More people filed in the door and a few more drinks were pushed into Michael's hand as he and Ben made conversation with some of the other guests.

Brandon was in the middle of explaining something job-related to a few people when Michael caught Ben looking away from the group. He followed Ben's gaze.

There was a guy across the room, hot and most definitely cruising Ben.

Michael nudged Ben. When he looked down Michael nodded his head at the figure across the room.

"Go."

"You're here as my guest, there's always next time."

"Ben, it's okay," Michael tried to argue with him, only to be stopped by a hand coming down on his shoulder.

"You want to dance?"

Michael looked up at the figure. Something about the guy; the way he looked, the way he'd asked, made Michael uneasy, but he really did want Ben to go off and see that guy, enjoy himself.

He glanced back at Ben for just a moment, receiving a small smile before he replied.

"Sure."

"Hey Terry," Ben nodded.

Terry greeted him in response, his eyes still on Michael.

"Go," Michael told Ben as he began walking toward the center of the room with Terry.

Ben watched as Terry and Michael went off to the center of the room where people were dancing. He'd never been a fan of the particular friend of Brandon's but didn't see that much harm could be done. Seeing nothing going wrong after a moment he started across the room. A pair of cool green eyes was on him and he planned to take advantage of it.

Their exchange was brief and before he knew it Ben found himself being pushed up against the wall, the guy's hands sliding up and under his shirt.

Smiling, and opening his eyes just slightly, he moved to kiss the stranger's neck.

He grinned to himself. It looked like he wasn't the only one getting lucky tonight. Terry was wrapped tightly around Michael, leaning down and talking in his ear. They were edging toward the edge of the crowd, in the direction of the guest bedroom that Brandon tried to keep open at his parties.

He moaned as the guy moved down to his neck, hands working to unbutton Ben's shirt and push it back over his shoulders. He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. It had been far too long since he'd done this at a party.

When he opened his eyes again, just to shift his grip, he glanced around the room once more.

Terry turned slightly and he caught sight of Michael, and more importantly the slightly panicked look that was etched across Michael's face. He was pushing at Terry, trying to get him to back off.

As it was Terry didn't seem to be getting the message. He leaned down and kissed Michael hard.

Michael pulled away as much as he could with Terry's arms wrapped tightly around him.

"No."

Ben saw more than he heard the words escape Michael's mouth.

Terry tried again and again Michael pushed him back.

"Fuck you."

Ben knew from years of experience that Terry wasn't one to let people talk to him like that without consequences.

True to his character Terry slammed Michael back against the wall, pinning his arms.

Ben actually heard the cry that Michael emitted in both surprise and pain.

He didn't even realize he had moved until he was across the room, putting himself physically between Michael and Terry, pushing the latter back.

"Back the fuck off," he warned firmly.

Terry would be pissed but he was smaller than Ben. People were staring now too and he didn't want to look like a bully.

"What the hell are you bringing a high school kid to a party for anyway?" he snapped back, "You shouldn't have brought him if he's not up for the agenda."

"Maybe you should learn that you're not that good a lay," Ben snapped back, "so stop trying to pressure people into bed.

Terry clenched his fists and for a minute Ben thought he was actually going to hit him, but Terry just shook his head and turned and walked away.

A few people were still staring but most went back to their own conversations, and their own tricks. Ben saw the guy he'd been with roll his eyes and disappear back into the crowd.

Well, that was the end of that endeavor.

He finally turned to Michael.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," Michael said with a nod.

"Come on," Ben told him, "We're getting out of here."

He grabbed a half-empty bottle of rum off the table as they passed through the room. He led Michael up the stairs, past Vic's floor and to the roof. Even as the door slammed shut behind them Ben didn't say a word, just collapsed into one of the lawn chairs residents had left up there and taken a swig of the burning liquid.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you there,' he said.

"I was fine," Michael assured him.

Ben laughed bitterly, "Yeah, you looked fine."

Michael shook his head, "Ben, in case you haven't noticed I'm not that big a guy." He held his arms out to his sides as though to emphasize the point, "Do you really think shit like that hasn't happened to me before?"

"Then you should have known how to get out of that situation."

"I do," Michael insisted, getting a bit agitated, "I was just trying to do it in a way that wouldn't create a scene. You know, I didn't want to embarrass _you_."

Ben deflated. He'd done a good enough job of that on his own.

"I'm sorry, Michael," he sighed, "I've just had one too many shitty experiences with guys like Terry."

"Including Terry?" Michael was obviously referring to the comment Ben had made downstairs.

Ben sighed again, "You know, when you look back on high school in a few years you're going to realize that you did a lot of stupid stuff."

Michael laughed at that and Ben let out a chuckle.

An awkward silence settled between them and Ben took another sip out of the bottle. He looked up as he swallowed finding Michael staring at him.

"What?"

"Nothing," Michael said immediately, looking away, "Don't worry about it."

"You always do that," Ben told him, not quite annoyed, but wishing Michael trusted him, "I'm not going to bite your head off. Just say what's on your mind."

Michael watched him for a moment, sorting out his thoughts.

"I thought maybe you'd just had too much to drink the other night," he started, "but then you brought me to that party and I just…"

He seemed to get stuck there.

"Just say it Michael."

"Why'd you kiss me the other night?"

Ben just stared back at Michael. He honestly didn't know what to say. Michael was cute, and that was what he had been thinking the first night, but he wouldn't say it now. Sure, he hadn't known Michael all that long but their conversations had been a hell of a lot deeper than anything he'd had with his friends or his roommates back at school.

Michael took his silence as regret.

"Forget it," he turned his back on Ben, leaning against the wall and looking out over the street.

Ben stared at him. Why had he been so worried about bringing Michael to the party? Why had he felt that twinge of jealousy when Michael had walked off with Terry? And so enraged when Terry had shoved him? This was one of the things he hated about himself, that feelings like these sprung up out of nowhere.

Ben set the bottle down on the ground and pushed himself up out of his chair, all the while watching Michel. He didn't even glance back at Ben; he was too distracted by his thoughts.

Ben walked up behind Michael and put his arms against the wall on either side of Michael's body, trapping him there just as effectively as Terry had downstairs. He felt a shiver run through the younger man so he stepped closer. He knew what the intended effect of his actions was.

"Michael," he said quietly.

Michael sighed, his shoulders slumping a little, but he turned around to face Ben. He was still trapped by Ben's arms so there was nowhere else for him to look than up into Ben's face.

Ben couldn't think that Michael looked anything short of lost as he tried to flash a wry grin up at Ben.

He let a genuine grin pull at his lips in response, noting the way that Michael was staring up at him.

This time it was more than the courage from the alcohol that made him lean down and kiss Michael, wrapping an arm around his back and pulling them a few steps from the wall.

Michael tensed up, hesitating, but Ben didn't pull back. After a moment Michael wrapped his arm around the one that Ben was using to support him, pulling the two of them closer together and kissing him back.

When Ben finally pulled back he needed to catch his breath. Looking down he saw a blush across Michael's face. He was breathing hard too, looking up at Ben with a smile across his face.

* * *

A/N: Two in one day. That's amazing even to me. I'm about halfway through the next chapter on this one and it's generating all kinds of ideas for spinoffs in my head. This story needs more love in the form of reviews because I've gotten almost nothing for it.

More soon,

Megan


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: As always my plot to get ownership has been foiled by the likes of Rage, JT and Zephyr... in addition to all those legal people. Maybe next time.

* * *

Rooftops

Chapter 4

Hotshot

* * *

His parents had both disappeared to work by the time he woke up the next morning. He could tell without even getting out of bed because of how deathly silent the house was. He rolled over onto his back and smiled up at the ceiling as he remembered the night before. Joan was going to have a field day with this when he told her at work tomorrow. Maybe it would get him a few extra nights off from work or at least get her off his back when he came in late.

He was going to lounge around until noon and then head over to the familiar apartment building this afternoon. He just had to wait for it to be late enough that Michael would be back from the gym.

He glanced over at his computer and smiled. Inspiration was definitely hitting him once again. He turned on the machine, heading downstairs to grab breakfast before he showered and got to work.

* * *

-

He knocked at Vic's door, wondering how often this summer he was going to find himself standing in this same spot.

Vic opened the door and for a moment Ben wondered what exactly Vic did for a living, because he always seemed to be home.

Vic blinked at him.

"Christ, why are you teenage boys always awake so early. I've hardly been up for an hour."

Ben shrugged, "I'm used to getting up early for work I guess. Is Michael around?"

"My dear nephew is in his bedroom," Vic told him, stepping aside and letting him into the apartment.

Ben stepped past him with a nod, though he stopped once he was inside. Sitting at the table was a man not much older than himself, one he recognized from The Works, the one Brandon fucked around with on a semi-regular basis.

The man stared back at him with a grin, "Hey Benny."

Ben didn't say a word, just shook his head and crossed the living room.

Behind him he could hear Vic sitting back down at the table and speaking to his fuck-buddy, "How do you know him?"

Ben almost laughed at how close everyone in the gay community around here was. He let himself into Michael's room without knocking and closed the door behind him to block out their further conversation. What he found was Michael stretched out on his back and staring at the ceiling. He didn't even glance in Ben's direction as he heard the door opening and closing, probably assuming it was Vic.

His next decision didn't even involve thought. Without any hesitation Ben climbed onto the large bed next to Michael, resting on his stomach and using his elbows to support himself.

"Morning," he greeted as Michael looked up and met his eyes.

Michael glanced at his clock, "Closer to afternoon actually."

Ben grinned, shifting on to his side, "Smartass."

He noted Michael's wet hair and ran a hand through it, "You just get back from the gym?"

Michael shook his head, "Didn't go."

Michael's short, clipped answers weren't typical. Ben directed Michael's face with his hand, making Michael look him in the eye, "What's up?"

"You never really answered my question last night?"

Ben sighed, he'd through his reaction had made his response to Michael's question obvious.

"It's hard to explain, Michael," he said.

"So, dumb it down for me." Michael had agonized over that first kiss for a few days, so while he was pretty sure that he knew the answer making Ben squirm was more fun.

Ben though for a moment, shifting his weight again and placing a hand on Michael's bicep, "Okay, let me make this simple. I like you. A lot. And though I'm not one hundred percent sure exactly why that is I would rather not ignore it. So I was thinking that, as long as you're in New York this summer, we should see what happens with this."

"You sure you wouldn't rather just mess around at Brandon's parties all summer?" Michael asked.

Ben looked at him. "What's wrong with you today, huh? You're not usually this pessimistic."

Michael was pretty sure that Ben had rarely seen his optimistic side since they had met but he deserved an answer, "You just… you remind me a lot of Brian. The way you talk, and act, and the way you were last night at the party… I just don't want to be the person that tries to hold you back if that's not what you want."

Ben really needed to meet this Brian character, get to know him to find how he had made Michael so worried about things like this.

"Let me tell you something, okay. Going out and partying is great, it really is, but it gets old. People get burned out of that lifestyle. Eventually the same thing is going to happen to Brian. I'd rather spend my time with just one person then get a random fuck once in a while."

Michael grinned a little bit, "That's a much more philosophical answer than I was expecting."

Ben couldn't help but smile shaking his head and shifting his position once again. This time he settled himself chest to chest with Michael, holding his weight up.

"I am never going to get a straight answer out of you, am I?"

Michael smiled up at him in a silent affirmation.

Ben just shook his head and leaned down to kiss Michael again. This time Michael didn't hesitate to kiss back. He wrapped his arms up around Ben's broad shoulders, pulling him down on top of him.

Adolescence was a wonderful time if only for the fact that they could lay there and make out all afternoon and no one would bother them, or would likely care.

Michael pulled his lips away from Ben's and went to work on Ben's neck. Ben groaned deep in his throat, digging his hand into Michael's arm. He turned his head kissing Michael's forehead, hair, whatever he could reach.

"Ahem."

The two boys jumped apart at the misplaced cough, both looking toward the door.

Vic's latest trick was standing in the doorway, shit-eating grin across his face at having caught them in a compromising position. He opened the door a bit wider, stepping into the room and leaning against the doorframe. He was tall and typically built, with dark eyes and short curly hair. The way he stared was intimidating.

Finally he spoke, "You mother's on the phone."

"Fuck," Michael muttered, "Ben, let me up."

Ben rolled onto his side, raising an eyebrow as Michael's whole demeanor changed. He sat up stiffly, pushing himself off of the bed.

"I'll be right back," he said, nodding to Ben and slipping past the unfamiliar man at the door.

Ben settled back to the bed, leaning against the wall.

The guy, Sam was his name if Ben remembered correctly, took a few steps into the room.

"Isn't he a bit young for you, Benny?" he asked, leaning against the dresser.

"Isn't Vic a bit old for you?" Ben countered, raising an eyebrow.

"Touché," Sam smiled. "What can I say, the guy doesn't look half bad for his age. You're looking good to Ben, a year at school sure makes a big difference. Maybe I should start coming around Brandon's parties a bit more."

Ben watched him. His smile was more like a leer and Ben remembered how he had been at parties, one of those guys who liked to have the attention of the whole room.

"I'm not interested."

"Right," Sam glanced back toward the door, "The twerp."

* * *

-

Vic was rolling his eyes as Michael entered the living room, pacing around the room, phone in hand.

"Sis, will you calm down," he argued, "He's been trouble since the day he walked into Michael's life and I'm sure Michael didn't think-"

Michael sighed. He didn't even want to guess what Brian had done. Of course it was somehow going to be entirely his fault. He held out his hand for the phone.

"Here Deb, why don't you ask him yourself?"

Vic passed the phone off as though it had burned him, getting as far from Michael as he could. Michael just looked down at the phone for a moment before raising it to his ear.

"Hi Ma," he said.

"Don't you 'hi Ma' me," Debbie's voice was shrill, "What are you thinking letting Brian just come over like that?"

"Mom, he was fighting with his dad last night. You know how Mr. Kinney is. I told him that he could stay in my room if he needed to."

"Well, he did hell of a lot more than that."

Inwardly Michael groaned, "What did he do?"

Knowing Brian he wasn't going to appreciate it either.

"A young man, couldn't have been much younger than twenty-two, walked out my front door this morning," Debbie snapped, "A fucking trick in my house. Michael, I wouldn't even let you do that and you're my son. And then that cocky little shit just waltzed down the stairs and asked me what was for breakfast."

Part of Michael wanted to shake his head in annoyance but part of him wanted to laugh. In the end he just smirked, knowing his mother couldn't see it.

"I'll talk to him," He promised her, rubbing his forehead with his free hand.

"Talk? A lot of good that's going to do."

"Well, what do you want me to do? I'm not down there in Pittsburgh; I'm in New York."

"Yeah, well maybe we should rethink that arrangement. Maybe we should cut the trip short this year so you can come back and work on finding a job."

Michael clenched his jaw. A week ago he might have agreed to that, going home and spending his evenings hanging around with Brian would have sounded like a good idea. But now he had Ben sitting in his bedroom and that was definitely enough to make him want to stay.

Plus his mother was starting to get on his case about work already.

"I told you Ma, I have a job lined up when I get home."

"The Big Q? They're not going to pay you nearly enough. If you'd just worked a little harder this year you could have picked up an internship like Brian."

"I thought you weren't too fond of Brian this morning," he countered.

"Who I'm happy with is not the issue," she snapped, "The issue here is that your friend is setting himself up for success. That internship has got to be paying him twice what the Big Q is paying you and it's going to look a hell of a lot better on his college applications than 'comic book aficionado' is going to look on yours."

Michael frowned. Why was she all of a sudden getting on his case?

"Have you even started thinking about colleges you would like to look at Michael?"

"Brian said that I could come on a few visits with him."

"We can't afford the schools he's looking at Michael, and you're certainly not going to get the scholarships that he has."

"Christ Mother, I know," Michael snapped, "I'm only going to look at a few of the state schools."

"Don't you take that tone with me!"

"What tone?" Michael couldn't manage to stay quiet. He hadn't notice both Sam and Ben leave his bedroom, the latter pouring himself a cup of coffee in Vic's pristine kitchen.

"I am trying to explain to you that I am doing just fine. I want to stay in New York. This is probably the last summer I'm going to get to come up here so I plan to enjoy it."

It was a moment before she spoke, "You should start watching who you hang out with when you get back, sweetheart, you're starting to sound exactly like Brian."

"Good, maybe I'll start dragging tricks back from the clubs with me once I come home."

He couldn't help but get angry, and loud. There was something about his mother over the past few years. It had gotten worse, her nagging him about college and working, though he'd had a job almost since the day he'd turned fourteen, and had odd jobs long before that. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't as smart as Brian, that they didn't have the money for him to be tutored or go to a nice school as his best friend planned to.

Vic grabbed the phone from his hand, stopping him from going on further. He glared at Michael as Debbie's voice could be heard screaming from the phone.

"You had better have a damned good apology ready the next time she calls," he told Michael calmly. He nodded toward Michael's room. He may not have said it but it was an order.

Michael turned on his heel and stormed into his room, slamming the door shut behind him and for the moment completely forgetting that Ben was supposed to be in there.

Ben meanwhile, was standing silently in the kitchen. He'd thought things with his parents were bad. It obviously couldn't have been that bad as he had yet to get into a shouting match with his father. And at least he had the option to storm out of the house. He'd gotten the idea from the way that Michael talked about his mother, that despite this constant argument they were too close and he could never do that to her.

He started back in the direction of Michael's bedroom.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sam told him, nursing his own cup of coffee and watching closely as Vic tried to calm his sister down over the phone.

"Why's that?"

Sam gave him an incredulous look, "What, you think the kid isn't going to get punished for an outburst like that? What would happen in your house if you yelled at your mother like that? I'm telling you, the minute he hangs up that phone you're going to be gone and Michael's going to be grounded or on his way back to the Pitts."

Ben shrugged him off and headed back in the direction of Michael's room. That would be just his luck but Michel seemed intent on staying.

He opened the door just in time to see Michael turn and punch the wall. Hard.

"Fuck!" Michael snapped, immediately pulling his hand back and cradling it against his chest.

"Christ Baby, don't put a hole through the wall," Ben said, letting a small smile tug at his lips as he closed the door behind himself, "How are we gonna have any privacy if you do that?"

He wrapped an arm around Michael, the other one reaching down to cradle his hand. Michael didn't say a word, just leaned against Ben. That was one of the things that comforted him about this situation; Ben seemed to know exactly what he needed.

"Are you okay?"

Ben's words made Michael jump as they broke through the silence.

"I-I've never yelled at her like that," Michael stumbled over his words. "I just, she's going to be so mad at me."

"That was kind of crazy," Ben admitted. He certainly could never yell at his mother like that but it wasn't difficult to imagine such a yelling match between himself and his father over their current disagreement. "But I'm sure she knows that you're going through something hard. She's not going to hold it against you."

Michael looked up at him, "And you see, that makes it painfully obvious that you've never met my mother."

Ben let out a small chuckle. He could hardly imagine anyone's mother being quite that bad. Michael was surely exaggerating.

He raised a hand, dragging it back through Michael's hair as he pinned him between himself and the wall.

"I can't wait to meet her."

Michael shook his head and muttered, "Don't jinx yourself."

Ben smiled and just leaned in and kissed him. What could he say, teenager or not, it was easy to get distracted with Michael just standing there. And it wasn't as though Michael didn't respond; he wanted a distraction too.

Michael sighed against his lips, hands tangling in Ben's shirt.

For that second time that day the door burst open, but this time it was Vic who entered.

"Michael, I can't believe you went off on your mother like-" And then he stopped short, "Oh shit."

Ben stepped back but didn't take his hand off of Michael's hips.

Michael just stared back at his uncle. He wasn't quite sure what to say as usually the situation was reversed.

"I thought you said he was straight?"

Ben muffled a laugh.

"I was wrong," Michael replied, gripping Ben's shirt possessively and at the same time telling him that he wasn't helping.

Vic stared at him for a moment, "And when did this happen?"

"Last night," Ben answered for him.

Vic took a deep breath, putting a hand to his forehead, "Now I'm going to have to call your mother and convince her to let you stay the rest of the month."

"Uncle Vic?" Michael questioned.

"After that outburst she wants me to send you home," Vic muttered. He rubbed his hand over his face and continued, "As it is I'm going to have to come up with some kind of punishment and _we_," he motioned to the three of them, "are going to establish some ground rules if this is going to be going on under my roof."

He looked between the two of them, "Understood?"

Michael nodded.

"Yes Sir," Ben said.

Vic just looked at them again before sighing deeply and exiting the room.

"Do you think it makes a difference if it's going on _on_ his roof?" Ben asked.

Michael laughed, pressing his face against Ben's shoulder.

* * *

-

Vic's rules were stricter than Ben had expected but as the three of them sat around snacking on Chinese takeout later that night he was pretty sure he knew why.

Michael wasn't his kid. He was the nephew that he probably spoiled rotten and the one he was trying to teach to be a man. He hadn't gone any deeper into finding out about Michael's father but Vic seemed to be the key influential male in Michael's life.

And the problem was he knew how gay men were, and he'd been there so he knew what the sneaking around and closed doors meant. That of course was why if the two of them were in Michael's room the door needed to remain open.

"So, my parents have this Fourth of July party every year," he said, "It's a lot of family, business associates of my dads, my mom's co-workers and a lot of friends of mine. It'd be great if you could come." He looked at Vic, "Both of you. I think my parents would find it comforting to see that a gay man can indeed make something of his life."

Vic let out a laugh, "Sure, I'll see what I can do."

Ben turned his head to look at Michael.

"They're going to want to meet you," he said, "my parents. And some of the guys from the party will be there. Not Terry."

"Who's Terry?" Vic asked.

The two of them exchanged looks and a laugh.

"No one," Michael told his uncle.

Vic raised an eyebrow at him, moving his gaze slowly to Ben, and back to him again. Realizing he wasn't going to get any further information from either of them he just sighed.

"Fine, I will let you boys enjoy your secrets _for now_," he relented, "I just hope you both realize the enormous debt you owe me for convincing your mother to let you stay."

"Thanks Uncle Vic," Michael said to him, "Really."

Vic shook his head, "You'd just better not go off on her over the phone again this summer."

Michael flushed, embarrassed.

"I won't," he promised.

Ben wasn't sure quite what kind of support to give Michael right then. Just talking about his mother seemed to get him worked up. That made him think of his own parents and he instinctively checked his watch. It was later than he'd thought.

"I should get going," he said aloud. "I've got to work in the morning and I need to catch my parents before they turn in."

Vic nodded and Michael gave him a small smile.

"Why don't you walk Ben out to the sidewalk?" Vic told Michael, "I'll take care of these dishes."

Ben gave Michael a crooked smile as he started toward the door and Michael arched an eyebrow in return. He shoved his feet into a pair of sneakers and slammed the apartment door shut behind them. Vic just smiled to himself as he went about loading the dishes into the dishwasher. This was going to make the summer far more interesting.

* * *

-

"What do you think he'll say to your mom when he calls her back?" Ben asked on the way down the stairs.

Michael shrugged.

"He's her younger brother. I don't know what he'll say but he's always had this way of getting around her, getting her to do what he wants."

"So, you're sure you're going to be staying?"

"I hope so," Michael nodded, "I really hope so."

"Me too," Ben agreed. "I mean, I don't see how she could force you to come home."

"My mother is at least as persuasive as my uncle."

Ben raised an eyebrow as they headed out the front door, "Did you inherit this power of persuasion?"

Michael smirked, "You'll see."

Ben smiled in response, "I have to work tomorrow, and I have some writing I want to do but I'll give you a call at Vic's, give you directions to my place."

"Okay," Michael nodded.

Ben leaned down and gave him a quick, sweet kiss, "Bye."

Michael waited until he had disappeared down the block before turning and walking back upstairs, a wide smile plastered across his face.

* * *

-

"Where have you been all day?" his father was sitting in the living room as he came in the front door.

"Spent the day with a friend." Ben replied as he hung up his keys and entered the room. He was wary of starting another argument with his father.

"You've been disappearing a lot lately." Mr. Bruckner was watching him.

"I have a life, Dad." Ben said, spreading his hands out to his sides, "It's the summer, I have friends in the city, quite a few actually."

"Your mother thinks you're seeing someone." He made it obvious that he didn't appreciate his son's smart tone.

Ben fell quiet. Well, this was certainly easier than he'd expected it to be.

Mr. Bruckner looked up over his newspaper. "Ben?"

"I invited him to the party later this week," Ben told his father. "His uhh… his name's Michael. He's staying with his uncle for the summer."

"His uncle?"

"He lives in Pittsburg with his mother, but he comes up to visit his uncle during the summer. He's a few years younger than I am but we've been spending a lot of time together. We decided to just give it a try and see where it goes."

"Just what you need, another distraction."

Ben sighed deeply, "Look, I've got some writing to do and I have to work in the morning so I'm going to go upstairs. You can tell Mom if you want. If you don't I will tomorrow but I am not having this conversation with you tonight."

He turned to leave the room.

"Ben." His father's voice stopped him. He stopped but didn't turn around.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure Michael's a nice boy. It's been a long day at work."

Ben started walking again, hurrying past his mother on his way up the stairs. He barely responded to her greeting and shut the door to his room securely behind him.

As he opened his latest writing project on his computer he cursed. His father had never liked any of his past flings, and he had a feeling that he wouldn't be too fond of Michael. It bothered him that he seemed to be doing everything wrong in his father's eyes.

* * *

A/N: I've got a lot of the next chapter of 'Call Me Hunter' done. I'm so glad that they're both going along and I'm still inspired. Anyway, hope you're enjoying this. I don't know how much writing I'm going to be able to do for a while. Classes end this week, my finals plan to kill me, and when I go home I have one day off and then work 48 hours a week until New Years. Writing time will be limited but I'll probably work on getting stuff down on my breaks.

Leave some love to let me know if you're enjoying it.

Megan


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Not mine, as always.

Rooftops

Chapter 5

Hotshot

* * *

Vic's hand rested on Michael's shoulder as they approached the brownstone. Michael could barely grasp the concept of having a place like that in the city. The most he could even begin to fathom was the penthouse lofts Vic had looked at years ago. He stared up at the Bruckner residence with a look of awe.

"Try not to look too surprised when we get inside," Vic told him. "You know, that Ivy League school Ben goes to isn't cheap. Did you really think everyone goes to school on scholarship?"

"No, but I didn't quite expect this," Michael admitted.

"Well, let's go inside and find your boyfriend and hope the shock wears off." He began walking up the front steps.

Michael hurried after him, catching up just as his uncle knocked on the front door. It opened almost immediately and a thin woman with Ben's eyes opened the door.

Her eyes went immediately to Michael.

"You must be Vic Grassi." She shook hands with him and shifted her gaze, "and you must be Michael."

He nodded, "Yes ma'am."

"Well, come on in. Almost everyone is out in the backyard. Michael, you should be able to find Ben somewhere out there."

"Thanks," Michael replied, throwing his uncle a look as the two of them struck up a conversation, and made his way through the house.

As he emerged into the backyard he stared again. It was much larger than he had expected, just like the house. He shook off the feeling as best he could and began to wander around the backyard in search of Ben.

There were so many people, most of them older. He felt horribly underdressed, except when he saw the occasional friend of Ben's. He was just about to turn around and go back into the house when an arm caught him around the waist.

"I saw Vic so I figured you'd be out here somewhere."

Michael turned in Ben's arms and went to kiss him hello but caught himself and hesitated. He wouldn't have dared kiss Ben back in Pittsburgh, not in public.

But Ben didn't seem to have the same reservations.

"What?" he asked when Michael hesitated. Without waiting for a reply he pressed his lips against Michael's. It was quick, but it was a kiss nonetheless. Michael felt himself blush slightly.

"Mmm… I missed you," he told Ben.

Ben grinned. It had only been a day and a half but seeing Michael definitely improved his mood.

"Come on," he said, "I'll introduce you to some of my friends," he sighed, "my parents."

"I already met your mom actually," Michael said, chuckling because Ben already seemed embarrassed, "She let me and Vic in when we got here."

"I'm sorry you had to suffer through that," Ben apologized, guiding Michael through the crowd. Michael tightened his grip on Ben's hand. He felt like people were staring, probably more than they actually were, and it made him slightly uncomfortable. Things were so different here. The only reason he could remain relaxed was knowing that Ben was open about who he was and so many of his friend were there.

Ben stopped at the grill, finding Vic talking to his father about cooking techniques, explaining something about the meat on the grill to him. His father wasn't one to listen to people, and he'd never met Vic before, but he was focused on listening to the younger man.

Vic seemed to notice him staring because he fell silent and cleared his throat, nodding at the two of them.

Both of Ben's parents turned to where Michael stood next to Ben. Mrs. Bruckner smiled at both of them.

Michael was startled by the resemblance. Ben was the spitting image of his father though his hair was certainly lighter with age. He was staring down at Michael with the same intense gaze Ben also directed at him. Michael shifted uncomfortably, tightening his grip on Ben's hand.

"Mom, Dad, I see you've already met Vic, but umm… this is Michael."

"Nice to meet you," Michael said quietly. His mother had at least instilled good manners in him, though he wasn't very familiar with this situation.

Mrs. Bruckner's smile widened, "Ben's been talking about you all morning, Michael. I hope the two of you don't plan on hiding out at your uncle's apartment all summer. You're just as welcome here."

"Good to meet you Michael," Mr. Bruckner's greeting was much firmer, though not unfriendly.

He did however turn to Vic, "Mr. Grassi, with these two spending so much time at your apartment while you're at work don't you expect they could get into trouble?"

Vic looked at them both for a moment, "It's Vic, please. And to be perfectly honest Daniel, kids at their age, gay or straight, are going to find a way to cause whatever kind of trouble they are up for. There are rules in my apartment. Michael, your son and I discussed them the other night, and my nephew knows better than to break them."

Michael nodded, ducking his head. He and Brian had certainly gotten in trouble for breaking a few rules the summer before and he wasn't keen on reliving the experience. The worst punishment of all had been the look of disappointment in Vic's eyes.

"How about you, Ben?" Vic asked.

"No Sir," Ben replied, "I don't plan to break them.

"Good boy," Mr. Bruckner replied. "I guess the four of us will have to sit down and set some ground rules sometime in the future."

"We should make ourselves scarce then, I guess." Ben nodded to his parents and to Vic before he and Michael walked off.

"Well, that was kind of intense," Michael said quietly.

"Yeah," Ben scratched a hand over the back of his neck, "my parents can be a little _much_. Overprotective."

"You forget that you haven't met my mother yet," Michael reminded him.

Ben smiled. "Listen, I have to go schmooze some of my dad's business partners. You know, be the smart, successful son he likes to show off."

He rolled his eyes dramatically. "I'll be back around in a bit. I hate to tell you to entertain yourself but I promised him I would… be _that _kid."

Michael smiled, "Go. I'll keep myself busy."

Ben gave him a smile, letting go of his hand before he walked away.

Michael watched Ben strike up a conversation with an older gentleman. He felt a twinge of jealousy deep within himself. He had never known his own father and had no moments like this, making someone proud like Ben. Ben was smart and gregarious, and what his mother must have dreamed of him being.

He knew he should probably tell Ben about his father.

"Hey," Brandon's hand clamped down on his shoulder .

Michael looked up at him, "Hey Brandon."

"So," Brandon passed a full cup to Michael, "I hear you and Ben are seeing each other, or whatever the popular term for that is nowadays."

"Um yeah," Michael took a sip of the drink. The alcohol taste was faint but Michael nodded his appreciation.

"That's good," Brandon said. "He really needs someone to ground him right now. I uhh… also want to apologize for my party. Things don't usually get out of hand like that, and Ben's my friend so it'd kind of suck if he wasn't around at any more of them this summer."

"We'll be back," Michael assured him, "I know how to handle myself."

"Of course you do," Brandon nodded. He followed Michael's gaze out to where Ben was talking with an older gentleman.

"Don't let his golden boy image fool you," he told Michael, taking a sip of his own drink. "He's got problems like a lot of people, and he's going through some pretty tough shit with his dad right now so he might need to lean on you."

"He can lean on me just as much as I can lean on him," Michael replied.

"Just don't hurt him," Brandon said, making the implication clear.

Michael almost smiled. He could hear Brian making the same exact threat.

"I won't," he promised.

Brandon nodded.

They exchanged a few more pieces of useless conversation but Brandon had made his point and wandered away.

* * *

Michael made himself busy. He talked to a few more of the guys who had been at Brandon's party, the ones who approached him, remembered him. His uncle seemed to be having the same luck and Michael saw him striking up conversations with more than one of the Bruckners' business associates.

He headed inside the house once he had freed himself from another conversation. His mother's tiny home could fit in the first floor of the brownstone and he couldn't help but marvel at the building as he searched for the bathroom.

As he made his way through the house to return to the back year he went to walk through the kitchen but stopped in the doorway as he heard voices in what seemed to be an argument.

"I told you I didn't want Mr. Dean's internship." He recognized Ben's voice instantly.

"It's impressive that he even offered it to you!" His father replied, "You can't just turn down an opportunity like that! These kinds of opportunities don't get offered to people your age."

"Well, it's too late, because I already did."

"To do what? To continue with that bullshit job and mess around with that _child_ all summer?"

"Michael is-"

"He's a child Ben," his father said sternly, "and you can choose not to see that but it's what he is. Now, I supported you when you came out but I can't support you in dating such trash. People like him will use you for money and do nothing but drag you down. Between him and this writing thing how are you going to focus on what's important this summer?"

"They _are_ what's important to me," Ben said. "If I can't see that I can't change your opinion but don't drag me down."

The sound of him turning and going back outside echoed out of the room. Nothing moved and Michael barely dares to breathe.

After a minute Mr. Bruckner sighed and turned to leave the kitchen. However, instead of heading back outside he headed into the house. He stopped abruptly as he saw Michael and the two of them stared at one another for a moment. He looked as though he was going to speak but walked past Michael and disappeared into a room, slamming the door behind him. Michael looked after him before walking into the backyard.

He began hunting for Ben in the crowd, eventually spotting him talking to an associate of his father's. He wasn't outwardly upset but Michael could hear it in his voice as he recounted his experiences from college.

Michael stepped up behind him and slipped his hand into Ben's, trying to comfort him in some small way.

Ben glanced over his shoulder and smiled, "Mr. Dean, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Michael."

"It's nice to meet you, young man." The old man replied without so much as looking stunned. "Benjamin, I hope you have a good summer. Good luck with your classes next semester."

"Thank you, Sir." Ben said, nodding to him.

As he left Ben pulled Michael in for a kiss that rejuvenated them both.

"Are you having a good time?"

Michael smiled up at them, "Yeah, of course, but I think that you owe me a private tour."

"Later," Ben promised, pulling him closer. "Although, now that my sonly obligations have been fulfilled we can escape."

"Escape?" Michael asked.

Ben smiled. "Let's grab some lunch."

* * *

Ben led Michael to a room upstairs. He hadn't noticed that all of Ben's friends had been disappearing but here they all were, in one room. It seemed to be some type of rec room, complete with a few couches and a TV. They made room for Ben and Michael on the couch.

As they ate the conversation slowly changed from how semesters at school had been, to what everyone was doing, to _who_ everyone was doing.

"So, what's the scene like in Pittsburgh?" someone asked Michael.

"It's uhh… pretty similar to here from what I can tell," Michael said. "There's this street downtown, Liberty Avenue. There are all these clubs, different scenes, stores and this diner."

"You go down there a lot?"

Michael shrugged, "My friend and I sneak down there a few times a week. Grab some drinks and go out dancing."

"Better question," another guy piped up, "How are the men?"

A few of them, including Ben, laughed.

"New York's been measuring up pretty well so far, but Pittsburgh doesn't lack fine specimens either." Michael said.

As the rest of them began asking questions Ben stared at Michael. He had quickly presumed that Michael had very limited knowledge but what he knew seemed quite extensive. It was more than he had known at that age.

He put his hand on Michael's leg for no real reason, vowing to himself to bring it up later. His friends were beginning to discuss the night's plans. They wanted to go to The Works. He wasn't sure how he could get Michael in but it was certainly going on his to-do list for the summer. Being that close to Michael was fast becoming one of his favorite activities, and having an excuse to do so just made it better.

He tugged on Michael, pulling him off of the arm of the couch and down onto his lap.

"Do you want to go?" Michael asked him.

"Not tonight," Ben replied, pressing a kiss to Michael's shoulder, then his neck. "I can't. I have to work first thing in the morning."

Michael raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything Ben pulled him in for a longer kiss.

Michael didn't pull back until a pillow struck him in the back of the head.

"Christ!" Brandon griped, "Will you two please spare us."

"You're just jealous that you're not currently getting any," Ben replied immediately.

"Very true," Brandon chuckled.

Ben threw the pillow back across the room, letting them all resume normal conversation.

* * *

Hours passed like they did when he was at home, causing trouble with Brian or spending an afternoon down at Buzzy's reading comics. Michael found that he liked Ben's friends. For the most part, they didn't treat him like he was seventeen, at least not in a holier than thou way.

That was why when the boys began regaling one another with stories of their first blowjobs he had no problem telling the story about his and Brian's second ever trip to Babylon the previous summer. It was also pleasantly surprising to find that Ben hadn't had the experience until his freshman year of college.

One of Ben's friends from high school, and long before he had come out, a twink of a guy named Tim was enthusiastically telling about an experience at a club in Canada during the past semester when he stopped abruptly. His face got red as he caught the eyes of someone standing in the doorway, behind the couch Michael was sitting on.

He turned around to find his uncle leaning against the doorjam, hands tucked into his pockets and one leg crossed in front of the other.

"Don't stop on my account," he said, noticing that the attention of the entire room was on him.

"Uhh…" Tim stumbled through his words. "This isn't exactly the kind of thing most parents want to hear."

Michael was the only one who noticed Vic's grimace at being called a parent and he let out a chuckle.

"Guys, this is my Uncle Vic. He's-"

"Heard the story of Michael losing his virginity from more than once source, and told plenty my own tales from the backroom of The Works."

It was Michael's turn to blush as a few of the other guys in the room laughed and spoke their disbelief.

"Michael, I'm heading out, and I would really prefer that you didn't walk home alone at night. It looks like Ben's going to stay here and help his parents clean up so-"

"He can walk back with me, Vic," Brandon spoke up. "I'm leaving in half an hour. I'll make sure he gets home all right."

He winked at Vic and several of his friends started laughing.

A grin crossed Vic's face at the teenaged activity, and he shook his head, nodding at Michael, "I'll see you in a bit then."

"Evening Vic." Ben called out.

"See you tomorrow, Ben."

Ben grinned. He actually wouldn't be around the following day but it was nice to know Vic expected him already.

Vic closed the door behind him and they all turned back to Tim, expecting him to pick up where he'd left off.

He was staring at Michael. "That's your uncle? Man, he's like a legend at the Works!"

Michael shrugged. It didn't surprise him.

Tim started for a moment before shaking off his look of awe and continuing with his tale.

A half hour later seemed to be a leaving time for most of Ben's guests, all eager to get home and get ready to go out.

"I'll meet you at the corner," Brandon told him purposefully as he bumped Michael's shoulder on the way down the stairs.

"Thanks."

Michael stopped on the front stairs next to Ben as they all walked down the street

As his friends scattered in either direction Ben wrapped an arm around Michael and leaned in to kiss him.

Just as he had at the party Michael couldn't help but stiffen a little. It was still early enough that the sidewalks were crowded with people.

"Don't," the word escaped before he could stop it.

Ben immediately paused and stepped back, "What's wrong?"

Michael leaned back against the railing, "I'm just not comfortable being…" He searched for the right word.

"You had no problem upstairs," Ben reminded him, seeming to sense where his mind was going.

"Yeah, I just mean, your friends are all gay themselves, or cool with it. But people just walking by…" He looked out at the sidewalk.

Ben stared for a moment. "You're not out at home are you?"

Michael looked at him. "The people who matter know. Everyone else is just white noise. It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does." Ben prompted, "Michael?"

"No. Some people kind of have their assumptions but no, I'm not out to a lot of people." He took a step forward.

"It's different here, Ben. If we did that in Pittsburgh, at a place like your parents' party, on the front steps of my house… I'd hate to think of what would happen."

"That's what's so great about New York," Ben said with a nod.

Michael looked at him. He trusted Ben but it wasn't easy to step out of his comfort zone.

"Still."

Ben nodded and pulled Michael back in through the doorway. He pushed him hard against it, forcing the door closed and before Michael had really gained his footing was pressed against him, kissing him hard. Michael smiled into the kiss and took tight hold of the shirt Ben was wearing.

Ben pulled back quickly at the sound of a woman clearing her throat.

"Good evening, Michael," she said, "I hope we see you around some more this summer."

"Of course," he nodded, opening the door as a blush crept up his neck, "Goodnight Mrs. Bruckner."

He pushed himself up onto his tiptoes and pressed another kiss to Ben's lips, "Night Ben."

"Bye," Ben replied.

Michael closed the door behind himself and Ben turned to his mother.

"Did you _have to_ do that?"

"It's my privilege as a parent to embarrass you, Sweetheart," she told him, "And I'm sure that's the least compromising position I'll find the two of you in this summer, so you'll survive."

"Mom!" Now Ben was blushing.

"Why don't you go help your father clean up out back?"

Ben gladly took the opportunity to escape. It was a big backyard; it would be easy to avoid another conversation with his father.

* * *

"Took you long enough," Brandon complained around his cigarette as Michael caught up to him.

"Sorry," Michael replied.

Brandon shrugged and started walking, offering the cigarette to Michael.

"So Brandon," he began, taking a drag, "You've known Ben for a long time, right?"

"About ten years," Brandon agreed, taking the cigarette back.

"What's he like, I mean, with school and people?"

"You mean, is he different than he is with you?"

"I guess."

Brandon thought about it for a moment. "He's smart. Really smart. He got into Yale without any help from his parents, and he does all this stuff on campus and still manages to keep his grades up. As for people, he's got more friends than anyone I know and…" he paused, thinking for a moment, "I guess as far as guys go, he gets around. You wouldn't believe the stories he tells me about school."

Michael was quiet for the rest of the walk home as Brandon went on about school and Ben.

* * *

Ben headed to Michael's quickly after getting out of work two days later. Michael was expecting him and they had planned to walk down to the park again.

However, it was Vic who answered the door.

"I don't think he's quite as excited as you are," Vic told him as he opened the door wider, letting Ben past.

Ben raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

"His mother got his grades in the mail today."

"Oh." He remembered Michael mentioning his hatred of school more than once. "I take he didn't have a good semester."

Vic shook his head. "No, not at all. Technically, I'm supposed to ground him for the rest of the time that I'm here, or at least until I can calm my sister down. That said," he paused, giving Ben a pointed look, "I am going to take a very long, relaxing shower, and if he sneaks out while I'm in there I'm not going to go out looking for him."

"Yes Sir," Ben grinned.

He left Vic standing in the living room and made his way over to Michael's room, closing the door securely behind him. He climbed onto the bed where Michael seemed to be dozing.

He grinned and began massaging Michael's shoulders, "You know, I think you have this moping thing down to an art."

"Mmm?" Michael turned his head, "You're not supposed to be here, you know." He smothered a groan, "I'm-"

"Grounded." Ben finished. "I heard. I also heard that if you sneak out while your uncle is in the shower he's not going to look for you, and I assume that means he isn't going to punish you."

Michael chuckled. That didn't surprise him.

"So," Ben continued, "Do you want to come up to the roof with me?"

"Yeah," Michael nodded, rolling over and pushing himself up into a sitting position.

"How bad was it?" Ben asked as they let themselves out of Vic's apartment, closing the door and starting for the stairs.

Michael chose not to answer until they had reached the roof.

"One B, two Cs and two Ds." He said as they strolled across the roof.

"Ouch," Ben commiserated.

"Yeah, Michael sighed, collapsing into an empty chair. "And I would have done even worse without Brian helping me study for everything."

"Maybe you could have," Ben told him.

"No," Michael knew Ben was trying to make him feel better but he hated when people took this attitude with him. "I'm not smart Ben. School really just sucks for me and I can't wait to be done for good."

Ben didn't know what to say. He had always liked school, but then, a lot of it had come so easily to him.

The best way was possibly to just push onto another subject. He wrapped an arm around Michael from behind, leaning on the back of his chair.

"Tell me about Pittsburgh," he requested.

Michael laughed a little, "What about it?"

"Where you live? Brian? Your mom? Whatever you want to talk about really," Ben said, releasing him and pilling another chair close. "You at an advantage here. You get to see me living life like I do every day. I, on the other hand, know very little about your life. It's completely unfair."

Michael took a deep breath. Maybe he did owe this to Ben. Brian was the easiest place to start, but in other ways the most difficult. He thought for a moment.

"Okay, so I should tell you that one day Brian Kinney is going to be God's gift to Liberty Avenue…"

* * *

A/N: Finally I'm back. As I thought break has been incredibly hectic, and I've been working more than 40 hours a week, but I have been writing on my breaks, mostly working on various part of this. I've made it my writing goal to finish this before the end of the upcoming semester. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one, I'm hoping, will be up more quickly than the last.

Leave some love,

Megan


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Property of Cowlip, Showtime, and the rest of them. I'm just happy they don't get angry at me for borrowing them once in a while.

Rooftops

Chapter 6

Hotshot

* * *

Ben was sitting alone in his room staring at the screen of his computer. It was barely eleven o'clock and he should have been out with Michael, or in the least out with his friends, somewhere far away from the threat of having a run-in with his parents.

Instead he was still sitting in his room, alone, listening to his parents come in from their night on the town.

It was finished; he was amazed by that fact. He had been stuck on his writing for weeks, nearly since the first time he had spoken to Michael he'd been at a dead standstill. This morning had been different. Words had suddenly spilled forth. He'd only stopped to hop in the shower, interrupting himself, because he knew that Michael was coming over.

If he really admitted it to himself he knew that Michael was the reason he had been inspired to finish writing. It was something that he had said on the roof of Vic's building a few nights before. Ben couldn't even remember the words.

After recounting his friendship with Brian Michael had talked about his family. He had said something about Debbie that stuck with Ben. He had talked about how much he really did love his mother and that being why she drove him crazy.

Ben's piece was about coming out, about accepting himself as a teenager and a young adult, and about becoming himself as he showed himself to the people around him. It was about loving himself and his family and friends, and that being what drove him crazy. It was so out there, but yet, when he worked it all out on paper it made perfect sense.

It had all just clicked into place.

But then Ben had walked back into his room, half dressed to find Michael sitting at his computer, reading his words off of the screen. He'd gone off on Michael.

It wasn't finished yet, or even edited, and Ben rarely allowed anyone other than professors the opportunity to look at his work in such early stages. It made him nervous.

Even now Michael's questions bounced back at him like thorns.

"I thought you wanted to be published," Michael had argued as he got up out of the chair, backing across Ben's bedroom and away from him.

Of course. That was Ben's dream and he'd said so.

"Well, don't you realize that if you get published people are going to read your work? They're going to make comments on it, good and bad."

"It's private," he'd insisted, "You had no right."

"I'm sorry Ben," Michael apologized, "I just wandered in here and it was open on the screen. You're always talking about your writing and how much your dad hates it so I thought it might be nice to, you know, show some interest."

"I don't want you reading it!" Ben's words had come out sounding a lot more angry and aggressive than he had meant them to.

Michael's eyes had gotten wide.

"Fine." And then he'd just turned and left the room.

Right now Ben still felt a little bit pissed at the betrayal of his privacy, but deeper than that he knew that he needed to find Michael and apologize, especially for the way that he had acted, for everything, really.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a knock at his door. He looked up as his father stuck his head into the room.

"What are you sitting in the dark for?" he asked, as Ben's only source of light was that of the computer screen.

Ben shrugged. "Thinking."

He blinked as his father flipped on the light switch.

"I thought you were going out with Michael tonight?" There were no feelings in his father's voice associated with the question. He'd made his position on Michael perfectly clear on the fourth and now he just treated him as some kind of inanimate object.

Ben shrugged again, "We had an argument. I finished my piece for next year's seminar though."

His father nodded at the information.

"Maybe it's for the best," he said, "You can focus some more on your other schoolwork in your free time now instead of going out every night."

"Sure Dad," Ben said, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach over what he had said to Michael.

"You didn't need the distractions anyway," his father continued.

Ben just nodded. It was too late at night to start this argument with his father again.

His father looked as though he was about to say something further but then just backed out of the room.

Ben looked back at the computer screen, rereading his last few paragraphs a few times. He sighed and shut off his computer. In the morning he had to work and in the afternoon it might be a good idea to start editing… or maybe it would be better to go and find Michael.

By the time he did get out of work the next afternoon Ben couldn't even think about editing his narrative. He needed to do something to relieve the stress he was feeling over the situation with his parents, Michael, and this writing seminar he was trying to prepare for.

It almost made him smile to see that he had an e-mail from Brandon advertising a party that night. That could be exactly what he needed to take the edge off of his miserable feelings.

But then he saw the end of the e-mail. It was like a slap in the face.

'Bring Michael. Don't think I haven't seen you running up to that apartment every day. I want someone to share embarrassing Ben stories with.'

Ben stared for a moment before closing the e-mail and getting up to pull on a clean t-shirt. That was it. He had to go to Michael's.

As he walked up the stairs of the apartment building he realized that Vic was probably at work, and wondered if Michael would even open the door. He certainly couldn't blame him if he didn't. He knocked anyway.

To say the least it startled him when the door opened and a tall, shirtless brunette stood in the doorway. His eyes stared straight through Ben, or at least they seemed to. He was too young for Vic, but Ben could barely believe that Michael had gone out and…

"So, are you going to come in or not?"

This guys voice was smooth an even and he hadn't even asked why Ben was there. Despite his fears Ben found himself stepping inside. The stranger shut the door and passed by him to walk into the living room. He collapsed onto the couch as though he lived there.

Ben stared. The two of them were nothing alike. This guy had dark hair and was nearly as tall as Ben but thin as a rail. At the same time Ben could understand what Michael saw in him, especially as he wasn't wearing a shirt.

He had just pulled together something to say to the stranger when there was a noise further into the apartment.

"Christ, I can't believe you didn't tell me that you were going to come-" Michael spoke loudly as he came out of the bathroom from the shower. He had on a pair of jeans and was holding a shirt in his hand, though he abruptly froze as he took in the scene before him.

"Ben?"

"Hey," Ben replied, now even more concerned with the scene he had walked in on. "I came to uhh… talk to you about yesterday but," he glanced pointedly at the stranger, "I guess now really isn't a good time."

Michael didn't even glance back at his guest. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you again after last night."

"Because we all know Michael has trouble holding onto anything," came the mocking voice from the couch.

"Shut up, Brian," Michael snapped, his head whipping around for just a moment.

"Brian?" Ben asked, more to himself than to anyone else. He knew the name and really did hope that this was just Michael's friend from home.

"Yeah, he surprised me and came up to visit for the weekend," Michael clarified, "Ben Bruckner, Brian Kinney."

Neither of them really looked at one another as he introduced them.

"Oh," Brian smirked, getting up off of the couch, "So you're the big college boy that Mikey's been going on about all week."

That seemed to annoy Michael, "Brian, will you fuck off and give me, like, ten minutes."

As Brian walked between the two of them he brushed particularly close to Ben. "Don't worry, with Michael it's always really easy to kiss and make up."

He paused, leaving a slobbery kiss on Michael's check before disappearing into his bedroom and closing the door.

Michael just stared after him until the door closed. The frown stayed on his face as he turned back to face Ben.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as he finally seemed able to move again, pulling his shirt on over his head.

"I want to apologize, for last night," Ben began. "Michael, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I didn't mean to be such an asshole to you and it was stupid."

"Yeah, it was," Michael agreed.

Ben stared for a moment. Michael seemed agitated. He couldn't tell if it was because of his visit or Brian's.

"It's just, my writing is this big, personal thing. I overreacted when you were reading it because it's not something that I hand over to just anyone. It would be like me getting involved with your arguments with your mother."

He noticed that Michael's eyes flicked briefly toward his bedroom door.

"You wouldn't have any right to get involved. You don't know-"

"Neither do you," Ben interrupted, fighting to keep his voice down.

"I said I was sorry last night. I'm not going to keep apologizing."

"Okay," Ben said. "I won't ask you to. I really don't want you to hate me because I lost it for a few minutes."

Michael took a deep breath. Between Brian being here and the yelling Ben had done at him last night he was exhausted and stressed beyond what he was used to dealing with, even at home.

"Ben," he sighed, "I couldn't hate you no matter what you had done. I just…" another deep breath, "I can't deal with all of this right now."

Ben nodded. He didn't know what Michael meant.

"Tell you what, Brandon's having another party tonight. He told me to bring you. Why don't you bring Brian down with you and have a good time. And you and I can talk when you're ready."

Michael nodded.

Ben turned and left the apartment without another word.

* * *

--

"I don't want to go," Michael said from his bed.

"We're going," Brian told him, zipping up his jeans. "I didn't come here to spend a boring night at home playing cards with you and Vic."

"It's a Friday night," Michael reminded him.

"Fine. I'm not here to sneak out to that club with you and run into Vic in the backroom. Is that better?"

Michael scowled at his friend.

Brian grinned at him as he pulled a shirt out of his bag and shrugged it on.

Michael remained sitting on his bed, watching Brian admire himself in the mirror, adjusting his black, buttoned shirt. He looked hot.

"How the hell did you afford that?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it." Brian met his eyes in the mirror. "Aren't you going to change?"

Michael stared back. "I told you, we're not going. And even if we were this is probably the nicest thing that I brought with me."

Brian snorted and began digging through his bag again. A red shirt surfaced and he threw it at Michael.

"You're pathetic."

Michael looked at the shirt and then back at Brian.

"I brought it for you. You'll look hot in it, don't worry." Brian grinned as he opened Michael's bedroom window and lit a cigarette.

"Brian-"

"I said, don't worry about it," Brian assured him, "My job gave me some extra cash and you and Debbie need to talk."

Michael looked up, "What? Brian, what happened?"

Brian just shook his head and Michael got up off of the bed. "Tell me."

"She lost her job at the department store," he said, holding the cigarette away from himself, "She's just working at the diner now."

"Fuck." As Michael peeled off his shirt and pulled on the one Brian had bought him all of the anger at his mother and at Ben fizzled out.

"There's nothing you can do about it," Brian told him, "So don't even think about it until you go home."

"She's not planning to tell me, is she?" he asked.

"Probably not until you get home," Brian confirmed, "You change your mind about the party?"

"I want to go down and talk to Ben."

Brian stared at him. "What is it about this guy?"

"He got really pissed yesterday. I was reading something on his computer that was private, and, I mean, I was never really mad at him. The way he yelled at me just added onto all the stress that's been piling on all summer."

"So why bother?" Brian asked, "You're leaving in three weeks."

Michael didn't answer. Brian wouldn't really understand. He'd always held a special spot for Brian but Ben was so different.

"Ready to go?" Brian asked.

Michael sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

* * *

--

The door to the apartment swung open and Brandon stood in the doorway, drink in hand.

"Michael!" he greeted warmly, stepping forward to hug him. His eyes then traveled quickly up and down Brian's frame.

Michael tried not to roll his eyes, "Brandon, this is Brian, my best friend from home. Brian, this is Brandon."

Brian's greeting didn't surprise him at all.

"Please tell me you have some decent booze in there."

Brandon laughed as he ushered them inside, "Of course. Come on, let me get you a drink. Michael, do you want anything?"

"I'm fine," Michael said, "Is Ben here yet?"

Brandon simply gestured vaguely across the room before guiding Brian away. Michael shook his head. Brandon was clearly a bit enamored with Brian. This was going to make things interesting.

He grabbed a cup of whatever beer was floating around and made his way slowly through the crowd.

Ben was leaning against the far wall, talking with a few guys who Michael didn't recognize. When he finally reached them he simply leaned against the wall next to Ben. Ben barely glanced at him.

"I move back in the twenty-fourth of August," Ben said. "It can't come soon enough. I can't wait to get away from my family."

"Take a summer class with me next year," one of them said, "Paying board actually isn't that bad."

"Yeah," Ben glanced at Michael again. "I'll think about it."

"You'd better," the guy bid him goodbye and started across the room toward someone else.

"I didn't think you guys were actually going to come," he said without looking at Michael.

"Like Brian would ever pass up the chance to go to a party," Michael said, his eyes crossing the room to find Brian with Brandon pressed up against a wall. "Looks like things aren't that different here."

"It's kind of hard to wrap my head around the fact that you're friends with someone like him. The way he pushed you around when I was there, manipulated you."

"I'm friends with you, aren't I?"

Ben finally looked at Michael. He was right; they had really just been getting along and not making their intentions clear since they'd met. "Touché."

Michael stepped away from the wall and turned to face Ben, "Earlier, I was stressing out over Brian just showing up and… some other stuff going on. I'm sorry."

"Prove it." Ben knew that they couldn't fall back into just getting along. They had to want this for it to work.

Michael knew this too. He took a deep breath. He had to do something here so he just stopped thinking and acted.

He stepped forward, wrapping a hand up behind Ben's neck and kissing him hard, forcing his tongue past Ben's lips. His forward momentum actually knocked Ben back against the wall.

He hoped that this was the kind of response Ben had been looking for and was pleasantly surprised when Ben started to kiss back, wrapping his arms tightly around Michael's lower back.

After a moment Ben began pushing him, forcing both of them back a few steps. Michael's back hit the table that was placed behind Brandon's couch, but he was too wrapped up in the kiss to really care. Ben surprised him again, lifting him up and setting him on the table so that they were more face to face.

That caught some attention. There were several catcalls and someone jeered, "get a room."

Ben tore his lips from Michael's for a moment and growled, "Fuck off."

It sent a shiver down Michael's spine. He never wanted that tone of Ben's voice directed at him but at the same time it was possessive and made his heart skip a beat or two.

Ben's lips pressed back against Michael's neck, tongue sliding out over the sensitive skin before his teeth dug in. Michael let out a groan, not really caring who was staring or listening. This was the kind of setting he could be comfortable with Ben in. His hand tangled up into Ben's hair, tugging his head back up and crashing their lips together.

"Fuck," Ben grunted.

He pulled Michael forward on the table, pressing his hips to Michael's.

Michael opened his eyes for just a moment, but just long enough to lock eyes with Brian, who was watching from across the room. He was staring, but not with the same look as everyone else. The look in his eyes was more predatory. It wasn't a look that Michael was accustomed to seeing across his friend's features.

He pulled back just a little.

"Ben," he managed, "Can we…"

"Yeah," Ben already seemed to know what he'd meant and didn't even give Michael a chance to get down off of the table. He picked him up and carried him far too easily into Brandon's guest room, kicking the door closed behind them. He dropped Michael onto the bed without much ceremony and made sure the door was securely closed before climbing on top of him.

Michael pulled him in again, wrapping his legs up around Ben's middle as they fell into a comfortable silence.

Ben broke it by groaning, pushing his hips down against Michael's.

His actions forced Michael to move. He pulled away, pushing at Ben to get him to roll off of him. Once Ben was on his back Michael began kissing at his neck and slowly working his way down, his hands reaching for Ben's belt.

Ben stopped him almost immediately. "Michael, you don't have to."

"I want to," Michael told him, "I wouldn't if I didn't."

Ben seemed hesitant but Michael was determined. He pushed Ben's hand out of the way and continued with the task he had set before himself. He pushed down on Ben's jeans and wrapped a hand around him and leaned up, giving him a searing kiss.

Ben's hand remained relaxed around the back of Michael's head as he descended, tightening in his hair as Michael's lips closed around Ben's cock. He grunted , struggling not to lift his hips off of the mattress.

Michael grinned, his hands digging into Ben's hips, because Ben was actually responding to everything he did. He took more of Ben into his mouth, moving slowly, purposefully.

Ben could barely form a coherent thought though he did force out a strained groan of, "Michael," in warning.

Michael pulled back and with a few quick strokes of his hand finished Ben off. He smirked, rolling half onto Ben and kissing his shoulder as Ben tried to catch his breath.

"There is no way I was nearly that good at that when I was seventeen," he gasped.

Michael frowned a bit, as he hated their difference in age being referenced to. But he forced a grin to his lips as he replied, "I blame it on the fact that I grew up with Brian."

"Hmm…"Ben mused, "I think I'm going to stick with my assumption that you're just naturally talented." He turned his head just slightly and kissed Michael.

"So, am I forgiven?" Michael asked, "For reacting this morning and for reading your work?"

"Yeah," Ben nodded before he started laughing, "Does that make this make up sex?"

Michael began to laugh too, "Only if you return the favor."

Ben's laughing slowed as he raised an eyebrow, "I can do that."

He quickly pushed Michael over onto his back, earning him something akin to a pleased groan from Michael.

* * *

--

There was no fanfare when they left the bedroom much to both of their happiness. Another couple was ready and waiting to push their way inside. Ben grabbed them both drinks and guided Michael over to a group of his friends from school, introducing him and striking up a conversation about classes.

When Michael finally spotted Brian again he and Brandon were coming out of Brandon's bedroom and Brian had a smug smirk cross his face. Michael squeezed Ben's hand and began walking toward his friend.

Ben looked up as Michael walked off and chuckled as Brandon joined them.

"Have a good time?" he asked Brandon as Michael tried to steer Brian away from the alcohol without much success.

Brandon nodded, taking a sip of his drink, "I think it's a first."

"What is?"

Brandon just tilted his head to the side, giving Ben a look.

"You let him top?"

"He's a persuasive little son of a bitch," Brandon told him. "And what about you and Michael? That was a nice little show the two of you put on."

Ben shook his head, "Don't worry about it."

He wasn't going to give his friends anything to gossip about. They were all going to think what they wanted no matter what he said anyway.

He glanced over Brandon's shoulder toward where Michael was arguing with his slightly belligerent friend, and obviously losing as Brian was holding a bottle of something.

As Ben made his way over Michael as Brian drained half of the bottle.

"Oh, you're going to be pleasant in the morning," Michael muttered, shaking his head.

Brian shrugged and walked off amid the crowd. Ben just wrapped an arm around him, guiding him back toward a larger group of people.

"Don't worry about him right now. You're here to have a good time."

Michael was also fairly intoxicated by the time they left. Ben walked upstairs with them, making plans with Michael for after Brian left. He figured that it was a good idea to give him some time with his friend.

Michael unlocked the door before turning to Ben again. "Are you sure I won't see you tomorrow?"

Brian rolled his eyes. "I'm going to bed, Mikey. Don't be out here all night."

And then he grabbed Michael and kissed him, right on the lips, before slipping past him, sending Ben a predatory look and disappearing into the apartment.

Michael didn't even seem thrown by it, but then, it had been a long night and they had fought about more than enough issues.

"I'll come by after work on Monday," he told Michael as he leaned down, pressing a kiss to Michael's lips.

Michael clung to him for a moment, not wanting the night to end. Ben didn't want it to either. He pressed himself onto his tiptoes and kissed Ben once more, letting himself be pressed back against the doorframe.

"Monday," Michael nodded when Ben finally pulled back.

Ben smiled and headed back downstairs to the party.

* * *

--

When Monday morning rolled around Michael was completely ready for the phone call he received.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?"

"Hi Ma," he said, trying to bite back a grin.

"I'm waiting."

Michael shrugged even though he knew that his mother couldn't see it. "I thought Uncle Vic might have told you, and I _knew _Brian would when he got home."

"But _you_ didn't."

"Ma, it's not a big deal. It's not even very serious. I'm coming home at the end of the month so it's not going to last very long."

"It's still better than Brian coming into my house with tricks every night."

"Okay," Michael agreed. She was right, it was.

"So, come on, I want to hear about him."

Michael flushed, "His name's Ben. He's in college."

"Where?"

"Yale."

"Yale?" She seemed a bit shocked.

"Yeah," Michael repeated, "He's really smart and uhh…" he stumbled over his words, getting a little bit uncomfortable with where this conversation could possibly be heading.

"Can we talk about something else?"

His mother was quiet for a moment. Obviously she wanted to ask more questions but he could be just as stubborn as she was.

Finally she spoke again, "Why does Brian have a black eye."

Michael sighed. One of the first things he had asked Brian was if his parents knew that he was in New York. Brian had said yes, but then Brian lied a lot.

"I don't know Ma, maybe one of his tricks elbowed him in the eye or something."

"Michael, it's a fucking shiner. I know what that looks like."

"I don't know, Mom." Michael said. He wasn't going to tell his mother what was going on in Brian's life. He and Brian very rarely talked about it with more than just looks, and although he was sure his mother knew exactly what was going on it was his place to say anything.

"Michael Charles…" she began, "don't give me that bullshit."

"Ma," Michael made an effort to make himself sound rushed, "Ben's at the door. I've got to go. I'll call you in a few days."

"Uh huh." There was no way she believed him.

"Bye."

"Love you too, Sweetheart."

He hung up and collapsed back across the bed. That was the good part, Ben was coming over in a few short hours and he was three weeks away from having to deal with his mother.

* * *

-

A/N: Just to make it clear how busy my semester is going to be, I've been finished with this for two weeks and today was the first chance I had to sit down to edit/post this. I'm really hoping that I can work out a schedule where I have some actual time to write. Once work starts up on the weekends I should be fine, and my spring break trip should offer plenty of time for writing. I hope you're all enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

And in case anyone's interested. I just finished outlines for a sequel or two when this is done.

-Megan


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: -sigh- Showtime and Cowlip are ignoring my pleas yet again. Still don't own 'em.

Rooftops  
Chapter Seven

* * *

Michael hurried down the sidewalk in the direction of the Bruckners' brownstone. He'd been at the gym a little longer than expected this morning, pushing himself to do just a little more. He hadn't even realized that he was late until he had gotten out of the shower at Vic's.

He was so preoccupied that he almost walked right by the front steps. Catching himself on the failing he took the steps two at a time and rang the doorbell.

He didn't know what the plan was but Vic wasn't home so they weren't supposed to be in the apartment. Nevertheless he was in a pleasant mood.

Until the door opened.

Mr. Bruckner stood there, blocking Michael's entrance to the house. It wasn't that Mr. Bruckner had ever been particularly cruel to him but they both knew that he had heard what had been said in that kitchen.

"Michael." His voice wasn't exactly cold but it certainly wasn't welcoming in any way.

"Hi Mr. Bruckner, I'm supposed to meet Ben-"

"He's upstairs," he said curtly, opening the door to let Michael past.

Michael darted past him and up the stairs without another word. He had no idea what about him Mr. Bruckner found so offensive, and thus no idea how to fix it. He also had no idea how to deal with fathers, having never had one of his own.

He reached the top of the stairs and ducked into Ben's room, only to find it empty. He stood there for a moment before sticking his head out into the hall.

"Ben?" he called.

"In here," a voice echoed from a few doors down.

Michael entered the new room to find Ben seated on the edge of a large mahogany desk as a printer spat out pieces of paper.

"What is this?" he asked.

"My mom's office," Ben replied. "I'm almost done."

Michael looked around. He was almost uncomfortable being here. He wasn't really sure how Ben's mom felt about him. He would have walked right out if it had been Ben's dad's office.

Finally the printer ejected a final piece of paper and fell silent. Ben scooped up the pile and clipped them together, leaving them on the desk as he reached out for Michael. Using his belt loops he tugged Michael the few feet between them so that they were face to face and kissed him.

"How was the gym?"

"Good," Michael said, "Think I'm gonna be sore later though."

"Mmm…" Ben replied before kissing him again.

Michael pulled back a little, "Don't you think we should go back to your room before we start this up?"

Ben pulled off an exaggerated sigh, "You take the fun out of everything." He did, however, release his hold on Michael and pick up the document he had just printed, ushering Michael across the hall to his bedroom.

"It's just, I don't think your parents like me very much," Michael pointed out.

Ben snorted, "My mother adores you."

"Really?"

Ben nodded. "She thinks you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I mean, I had a boyfriend at school last year but it never got anything close to serious, and she's sick of seeing me go out and party every night. She thinks you've really calmed me down."

Michael had gotten what Ben had implied when he said party. He wasn't disillusioned enough to think that Ben hadn't been more like Brian than he was comfortable admitting before he'd come around.

"Calmed you down?" he raised a skeptical eyebrow as he sat down at Ben's desk.

"She likes you." Ben told him, taking a seat on the bed, "She also likes to think that her baby can do no wrong. Let's just leave it at that."

"What about your dad?"

Ben frowned, "I don't really know what to say about him, Michael. He seems to be able to accept the fact that I'm gay but he's never really been that supportive of me seeing anyone. He knows I'm not going to grow out of it, but I think he keeps hoping…" he trailed off for a moment. "Don't take it personally. Especially with everything we're fighting about this summer he's just using you as another distraction."

"Am I a distraction?"

"Yes," Ben said immediately.

Michael frowned. That hadn't been the response that he was hoping for.

"But I am so happy to have you as a distraction. Now, will you come over here rather than sitting all the way across the room."

Michael grinned as he got up out of the chair and let Ben pull him down onto the bed.

"Here," he handed Michael the collection of papers that he had printed out.

"What's this?" Michael asked, not looking away from Ben.

"My narrative." Ben said, "I want you to read it."

Michael's eyes widened a bit, "Are you sure?"

Ben nodded. "I trust you."

Michael looked down at the thick document in his hands. "You have no idea how much you saying that means."

Ben was quiet for a moment. This was one of the moments where he wished that he had known Michael longer. Things like this threw him because he had absolutely no idea what Michael meant, or what to say to him.

Carefully, he placed a hand under Michael's chin, guiding him up to a warm kiss that quickly found Michael on his back with Ben pressed on top of him. His fingers found their way under the hem of Michael's shirt, sliding carefully over his abs. Michael tipped his head back letting a laugh bubble through his lips, his fingers curling in the sleeves of Ben's t-shirt.

However, as Ben shifted his weight Michael let out a pained groan. Immediately Ben shifted his weight so that none of it was pressed onto Michael.

"You weren't kidding about being sore, were you?"

"I'm fine," Michael insisted, "I just pulled something when I was lifting."

"Well," Ben sat down on the bed next to him, "What do you propose we do then?"

Michael scowled at him. "I'm fine, really."

"I wouldn't want to hurt you." There was a smile behind Ben's eyes now. "We could go watch a movie in the rec room."

"If by go watch a movie you mean make out on the couch, then sure."

"Mmm… you learn quickly," Ben smirked, heading for the door.

Michael followed closely behind him. "So, are you working tomorrow?"

"No," Ben said, "I have to on Thursday though, and then my parents want to have lunch and a 'talk.'"

Michael looked at him hesitantly. "Talk?"

Ben sighed, "I've been promising my mother that I would talk to my Dad about things since I got home. I guess it's just time to bite the bullet and do it."

"You can come to Vic's place if you need to get away after. I mean, I know after I fight with my mom I usually don't want to be around her."

Ben pulled him down onto the couch, "I'll be fine."

* * *

Sadly things never went quite as planned in the Bruckner house.

"So, classes are all set for next semester?" his mother asked him, "I know you said that you were having trouble getting into a few classes."

"I went and got signatures from a few professors. I've had most of them before so they didn't have a problem signing me in."

"What classes are you taking?" His father asked, picking at the salad in front of him, not looking up.

"Well, my writing seminar," Ben said, "obviously. And I'm also taking Argument and Persuasion, British Lit., Creative Nonfiction and my second philosophy."

The fork stopped moving and Ben looked at his father.

"You told me you were taking a few politics courses this semester."

"They don't fit into my schedule."

Both Ben and his mother jumped as his father suddenly banged his fists on the table, looking up to glare at Ben. "They should be all that's in your schedule!"

Ben sat back in his chair. He wasn't going to say anything if he didn't have to.

"I expect a reply, young man."

"I'm majoring in English."

"At Yale?" his father sounded incredulous, "What the hell are you going to do with a degree in English, Benjamin? Teach at a high school? We're paying good money for you to go there and you're throwing it down the drain."

"So stop paying; I'll apply for more scholarships," Ben snapped back, "I don't have any interest in politics or law, Dad. I'm sorry to burst your bubble but I like to write and I'm good at it. And I want to write and teach college."

"And you think I'm going to pay for that?"

"Peter," his mother tried to stop the building argument.

"Of course not," Ben snapped, "I would never be that irrational. I'm going to get tuition reimbursement somewhere and get a job on campus."

"You need to do something practical."

"I _need_ to do something that I can halfway stand. I wanted to fucking cry every time I had to sit through that class last semester."

"Ben, I told you when you started going there that I wasn't going to let you waste your time with this writing thing." Lunch was completely forgotten now. "Now, you only have two years left. You have to be careful and shape up, take the classes you need."

"I _am _taking the classes that I need."

"No, you're at an Ivy League school and I expect you to take classes that are appropriate, that are going to enable you to send your kids there one day."

Ben was almost tempted to ask '_what kids_,' but he didn't want to make his mother upset as well.

"Even if it wasn't law, Mr. Dean would have taken you on at his firm this summer. That experience would have been invaluable. But no, you're staying at that cheap hole-in-the-wall where you'll probably end up bussing tables for the rest of your life with the degree you're going for, and spending every other waking moment with that piece of trash."

Ben stood up abruptly, knocking his chair to the floor.

"Fuck _you_." He said very clearly to his father. "I don't know where you get off passing judgments on other people but I am happy with Michael, and I am happy writing. And you know what, I would rather work at the café until the day I die than end up as miserable as you."

He was so incredibly fucked. Saying that had to be pretty unforgivable. Instead of waiting for a response he used the moment of silence to dart past his mother and head toward the front door,

"Ben," his mother called after him, but he just kept going. He needed to get out.

He ran a few blocks, until he was sure they hadn't followed him, before slowing down. He pulled a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket and lit it. His hands were shaking and he wondered if even the nicotine rush would calm him down. He needed to be by himself and clear his head for a while. And there was no way that he was going back to that house today, but for now he couldn't deal with anyone, not even Michael.

* * *

Michael didn't even quicken his pace as the knocking at the door became frantic. It was just past ten and he'd already opened the door on three separate occasions to tell Vic's friends that he was stuck at work and would meet them at the club when he finally got out.

"Vic's-" he began, opening the door. Even as he saw who it was and tried to stop himself his voice continued, "-not here."

Ben managed to grin at him, "I wasn't really looking for him, but we can go chill up on the roof if you aren't comfortable without him here."

Michael rolled his eyes and held open the door to let Ben in. He really hadn't expected to see him, especially not looking as down as he did.

"Are you okay?" he asked, shutting the door.

Ben flopped against the arm of the couch and waited until Michael sat down next to him before speaking.

"I had that talk with my dad."

"Oh," Michael replied quietly, "It didn't go well, I guess."

"That's an understatement," Ben agreed. "We ended up screaming at each other. Technically, I'm pretty sure I heard him screaming that I was grounded as I left the house but I don't think that works now that I'm in college."

He sighed, reaching out and resting a hand on Michael's forearm.

Michael looked up at Ben, finally really seeing his face. His eyes were rimmed in red as though he had been crying and he looked away quickly.

Michael shifted the way he was sitting and leaned over Ben, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "I'm sorry."

He relaxed his weight on top of Ben, wrapping his arms up around his neck. Ben hugged him back as they made themselves comfortable.

"God, I can only imagine the screaming that's going to go on when I get home," he muttered.

"So, don't go." Michael laid his head on Ben's chest as Ben's fingers tangled though his hair.

"Stay here?"

"Why not?" Michael asked, "Vic's going out, and working in the morning. And considering the fact that he hasn't felt the need to check on me since I was nine or ten I think we'll be okay."

"Are you sure we can pull it off?" Ben asked.

Michael nodded.

Ben sat up and kissed Michael lightly. "You know I love you, right?"

A small grin grew on Michael's face and he leaned down to kiss Ben again.

Ben hadn't expected a response but slid his hands around Michael's back, holding him close.

It was hours later that they finally made their way to Michael's room. Michael left the door open slightly. It was Vic's rule that they weren't supposed to close it when they were in Michael's room alone, so in the odd case that he chose to check on them they wouldn't be in more trouble than they were already.

It was now that Michael was beginning to second guess his invitation. The only other guy he had ever really shared a bed with was Brian, and that was different. He wasn't sure if the invitation had implied anything. Despite what had happened at Brandon's party the previous weekend and the fact that he and Ben had spent the evening wrapped around each other he couldn't help but blush a little as Ben tugged his shirt up and over his head. He had obviously been working out more and more this summer.

There was a lump forming in his throat as he undid the button on his jeans. His mind was wandering and as Ben's hand came down on his shoulder he jumped.

Ben let out a chuckle. "Hey," he said quietly, sensing Michael's uneasiness, "I'm not going to make you do anything that you don't want to do."

Michael let Ben hug him from behind as he nodded in response.

If Ben was being honest with himself he knew that Michael wasn't ready for anything, and after they day he'd had he knew he was more exhausted than anything else.

He finished undressing and climbed into Michael's bed. Michael slid into bed next to him and Ben immediately wrapped an arm around him, resuming very much the position they had been in on the couch, Michael's back pressed to Ben's chest.

"I'm only here for another two weeks," Michael said.

"Shh…" Ben's arm tightened across his chest. "I know."

"I wish New York and Pittsburgh were closer together," Michael continued quietly.

Ben shifted so that Michael fell onto his back, so that they could look one another in the face. "Is there another time of year that you come to visit Vic?"

Michael shook his head, "Sometimes over my February break but this year I'll have to be working, and you'd be away at school anyway."

Ben nodded, trying to imagine not seeing Michael for such long stretches of time.

"I've got a long break over Columbus day weekend," he said in a hushed voice, leaning down closer to Michael. "Maybe I can come down for a long weekend."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course."

A wide smile pulled across Michael's face.

"Though, I wonder if your mother's rules will be as strict as your uncle's," Ben mused, once again pulling Michael close.

Michael chuckled, "She'll just be glad that I'm bringing home someone who isn't Brian."

Ben smiled too, leaning in and kissing Michael, knowing they should be getting some sleep.

* * *

Vic rolled onto his back, slamming his hand down on the buzzing alarm clock. The trick sleeping next to him hadn't even stirred. He looked at the young man for a moment, the same one whom he had found sleeping in his bed on several occasions now.

Sam was a great lay, but he marveled at how much the young man got by without a real job, sleeping the hours that he did. He didn't want to sound egotistical but Vic was proud to have a job that paid as well as his did.

He pushed himself out of bed without disturbing the other sleeping figure and headed for the solitude of the shower, enjoying the relaxed pace he could set in order to be ready for work. After letting the hot water undo the damage of the night before he pulled on a pair of pants before making his way to the kitchen for his first cup of coffee. The timer on the machine never failed him, and the streaming liquid was ready.

As he took that first exquisite sip from the mug his eyes caught on the guest room door. It was ajar.

That was odd. It was usually too early for him to be out of bed, but he hadn't known Michael to be up at this hour since he had been a child. And Michael always slept with the door tightly closed. Even in the event that it was ajar by mistake he knew Sam tended to be pretty loud when he went on his way in the mornings so he walked over to check in quickly, and shut the door.

As his hand settled on the doorknob he peeked inside the room. His heart stopped.

Michael was rolled onto his side near the edge of the bed, one leg sticking out from underneath the sheet. But the problem was he wasn't alone. His back was pressed firmly up against Ben's chest, and the older boy was curled up behind him, one arm wrapped protectively around Michael. Both were shirtless but he couldn't tell anything beyond that.

What startled him was how intimate they looked.

In fact, it startled him so much that he dropped his coffee mug, and it shattered as it hit the floorboards.

Michael had always been a heavy sleeper, but Ben surprised him by starting awake immediately. He jerked up into a semi-sitting position, though his arm never moved from around Michael, and his eyes locked almost immediately with Vic's.

"Fuck," Vic muttered quietly, bringing a hand up and pinching the bridge of his nose. This was going to cause problems on so many levels.

Finally he opened his eyes. Ben was still staring at him.

"Did you two…" he trailed off, assuming the implication spoke for itself.

Ben shook his head.

Vic sighed, well, at least he didn't have to deal with that hurdle yet.

"So, you've each got at least a pair of boxers on under there?" He didn't know why he was keeping his voice down, perhaps as not to wake Michael.

Ben nodded.

Vic sighed again, nodding. "I expect you to still be here when I get back from work. There have to be consequences for this."

Ben nodded again, he understood.

Vic walked back to the kitchen to fetch some paper towels to clean up the coffee. When he returned to the open doorway Ben had climbed out of bed. He was only wearing a pair of boxers but it was more than Vic had expected.

"Be careful, don't cut yourself on the mug," he warned, noting Ben's bare feet.

Mentally he was kicking himself, when had he become such a father? Oh, that's right, the day Michael was born and Debbie had handed him his nephew. That was a hell of a lot of pressure to put on a fifteen year old.

Once the coffee was mopped up and the broken pieces of the mug were cleared away Ben followed him into the living room.

"You should know better," Vic told him, his voice a bit louder.

Ben nodded. He looked appropriately ashamed, "Are you going to tell my parents?"

Vic just looked at him.

"I didn't uhh… tell them that I stayed here last night but I think they might kind of assume."

Vic sighed heavily, "Why did you stay here?"

"I had a fight with my dad."

"I'll tell them you slept on the couch," Vic promised.

"Thank you."

"But don't think that you're getting off easy with me."

"Of course not."

"It's early; you should get some more sleep."

Ben nodded, pausing for a moment before starting toward the couch.

Vic grabbed him by the arm and, knowing he would probably regret it later, pointed back in the direction of Michael's room.

Ben looked at him questioningly.

"Just go before I change my mind."

Ben didn't need to be told twice, he made his way quickly to Michael's room, this time closing the door securely behind him.

Vic sighed again and went to pour himself a new cup of coffee. Today was going to be a very long day at work.

As Ben climbed back into bed Michael stirred, rolling over and mumbling groggily at Ben.

"Where'd you go?"

"Bathroom," Ben kissed his cheek, settling into the bed and draping his arm over Michael once again.

"Careful," Michael muttered, rolling over so that he was facing Ben. He let Ben pull him close before he continued, "don't want Vic to catch us."

Ben smiled to himself before pressing another kiss to Michael's forehead.

"Go back to sleep."

Michael's breathing evened out in the next minute, his face buried against Ben's chest. Ben held him close as he made himself comfortable once again. Both of his arms wrapped around Michael's smaller frame. He felt secure here, and safe. There was something about being with Michael that took away all of the shit that he was going through at home. He hoped that he had the same effect on Michael, especially with all he seemed to be going through right now.

He relaxed, suddenly realizing how tired he was. He'd been stressing out for far too long and this was his first chance to relax. Letting his eyes close he felt himself slipping back into unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N: Wow, I posted this on lj almost a month ago. I can't believe I completely forgot to post it here. I'll get the next chapter up in a few days… someone hold me to that. Sorry if the formatting is a little messed up but my copy/paste job didn't work quite the way I want it to. Anyway, reviews are love and I am working on this on a regular basis, I promise but Junior year is rough and I'm taking some summer classes so gotta get prepped for that.

Until next time,

Megan


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Yeah, I wish.

Rooftops

Chapter 8

* * *

Upon waking up again in the early afternoon Ben had told Michael about the morning's events immediately. Vic wanted to talk to them and he wasn't going to go home in order to duck out of whatever punishment Vic was going to deal out.

"What'd he do when you and Brian got in trouble?" he asked carefully, as he smoked a cigarette on the roof of the building.

'Grounded us," Michael said, "It didn't really do much seeing as we shared a room and Brian found ways to cause trouble in the apartment. Vic goes out like clockwork so we snuck out all the time. Eventually I think he just gave up."

"So, what are you afraid of?"

Michael winced, reaching out for the cigarette and taking a drag.

"I don't like to disappoint him," he said, looking up as he handed it back to Ben. "It's kind of hard to explain."

"Michael, what happened to your da-" Ben's question was cut off as the door slammed open.

Vic stood there as their heads both whipped around to look at him. He didn't look quite as calm as he had that morning.

"Come downstairs," he said, "the three of us need to talk."

Ben stamped his cigarette out against the wall as Michael stood up and together the two of them followed the familiar path down to his apartment.

Vic had a glass in front of him, a bottle of Jack Daniel's on the counter. Michael and Ben both sat down in the chairs on the other side of the counter as Vic took a long drink.

"Uncle Vic?" Michael asked. He wasn't used to this quiet. It was one of the ways Vic was like his mother, when he was upset he yelled.

"This is not going to happen again," Vic said quietly, pouring himself another glass as he spoke. "If it does, Ben, I'm not going to expect to see you over here ever again. Michael, you will be grounded, and don't think you can pull the same stunts that you and Brian used to get away with. I will stay away from the clubs and watch you like a hawk until you go home. Even better, I could just send you home right then."

"Uncle Vic, nothing happened," Michael assured him.

Vic looked up, "But it has before. Maybe not much with Ben, but there have been others. Michael, I'm not stupid. And Ben, you're in college so I highly doubt it would be a first for you."

"Uncle Vic!" Michael's voice cracked. His uncle didn't normally speak so bluntly.

"I expect both of you to be safe," he said calmly, taking a sip of his drink. "I was in your position no so long ago. I know what will go on under my roof if I let it. That is not going to happen in my home, where I am responsible for my nephew's well being. Is that clear?"

He raised his eyes and stared at both of them.

"Yes Sir," Ben replied respectfully. He'd been quiet throughout Vic's entire outburst and now his voice was steady.

Michael just stared at his uncle for a moment before echoing Ben's response.

"Ben, I think you should head home now," Vic's voice finally broke the silence that had settled between the three of them a few moments later. "I don't expect to see you back here until Monday at the earliest. Michael just… go to your room."

He turned away from them, throwing back the rest of his drink.

The two of them exchanged looks as his back was turned, both to see how the other was handling this reaction.

Ben nodded. He could live with it. The punishment seemed more than appropriate. He leaned across the space between them and kissed Michael.

"I'll talk to you later," he said. "Call if you need anything." The look on his face was meant to assure Michael that everything was going to be fine.

He knew that he wasn't going to be around for the next few days but Michael might need someone to talk to, someone more than Vic or a long distance telephone call to Brian.

As the apartment door closed behind him Michael didn't move from his seat. He just sat there, staring at his uncle's back.

"Go to your room Michael," Vic said without turning around.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Vic finally turned around. "Now go."

Michael didn't move. "All you've been doing since I got together with Ben is encouraging me. You even sent him back to bed with me this morning. He told me. And just now you didn't freak out and yell like Ma does. You were calm, so something has to be wrong. Something has to have happened to change your mood so much from this morning."

Vic reached for the bottle but Michael pulled it out of his reach. He stared at his nephew for a moment before sighing deeply.

"That trick," he said, staring at Michael, exhaustion evident in his face.

"Sam?" Michael supplied, staring right back.

Vic nodded, "He called me at work today."

"I thought you said good tricks were good because they didn't expect anything beyond the sex. Why did he even have your work number?"

"Michael, please." Vic paused before starting very slowly, "He just got tested and came back positive."

Michael froze, so surprised he almost dropped the bottle that he was holding to the floor. He didn't need to ask Vic what he meant. He already knew. He swallowed hard.

"We were safe most of the time," Vic said.

"Are you – Did you go get tested?" Michael asked. His words came out rushed and full of worry.

"I have an appointment on Monday," he said, "And I'll have to go and get tested again in six months or so. Sometimes it doesn't show up right away." He sighed, "Michael, anything that goes on between Ben and you, I want you to be careful. You two need to be safe. I don't ever want to see you in this position."

Michael nodded. A knot was growing in his throat but he managed to speak around it. "I promise."

Vic stepped around the counter and enveloped Michael in a tight hug as he let out a long breath. "Do me a favor and go to your room for a while. I need some time to think."

Michael nodded and headed across the room, still in a daze.

"And _don't _tell your mother."

* * *

-

Ben was hesitant as he unlocked the front door of his parents' house and let himself inside. He'd argued with himself about even coming back. The things he had said, he could hardly believe that he'd said them, that no one had come after him or threatened him. Even worse than that was knowing what he would have to come back to. There was going to be yelling. He'd thought about going to visit Brandon or one of his other friends, maybe even seeing if Joan needed him to pick up an extra shift at work, but his feet had taken him home.

The house was quiet and he thought that maybe luck was going to be on his side and they wouldn't be home. He started up the stairs, intent on hiding out in his room, changing and possibly leaving again.

Unfortunately he heard his mother talking on the phone in her office and she heard him as he went to push open his bedroom door.

"Benjamin, can I have a word with you?" she called. He knew it wasn't really a question.

Slowly he walked into the room, leaning on the back of one of the chairs as she finished up her conversation and hung up the phone.

"Sit down." Her tone was firm.

Inwardly he winced. His mother rarely yelled, but he did follow her instructions and sat down in front of her desk.

His mother crossed her arms over her chest, "I know that you and your father don't get along Ben, but what you said yesterday..."

"I know." He said when she trailed off.

"Well, say something Ben. Don't just sit there and expect that this is going to blow over."

"Mom, I'm sorry."

"That's not going to cut it this time," she said. "Look, I know that writing is important to you and that you think you know what you want, but Ben, your father is right. You are young. You could change your mind."

"You taught me not to half-ass things," he reminded her, "I've done my research. I've talked to some of my professors. I'm already looking into grad schools. I know I'm young but I really have no interest in law or politics. Why would I do something that makes me miserable for the rest of my life?"

"Your father is hardly miserable."

"But I would be." He said. "I know I shouldn't have said most of what I did to Dad, but Mom, some of the stuff he said, what he said about writing being a waste of time and about Michael. That isn't fair. He doesn't know anything about it."

His mother's face softened a little and she closed her eyes, taking a moment to herself to think things through.

"Your father has very strong opinions, Ben. He can't help that any more than you can. That's where you get it from after all. Now, you want to be treated like an adult and allowed to make your own decisions? Then I expect you to act like one. Go downstairs, now, and talk to your father. Stop screaming at him and talk."

"Just to be fair, he yelled first."

The look that his mother leveled at him made him mutter a quick apology.

"Where were you last night, I was worried."

"Michael's," he said, "Vic's. I crashed on the couch."

"Michael's uncle let you stay?"

"He didn't get back until we were both asleep." Ben confirmed. "As it is I got told to stay away for a few days. I think Vic's having a rough week."

"Mr. Grassi puts up with a lot from you boys, I'm sure." She said, "and for what it's worth _I _like Michael."

Ben bit his lip to keep from grinning, "Thanks Mom."

She said nothing, simply gave him a brief smile before turning back to her computer, undoubtedly going back to work.

* * *

-

Ben wrung his hands as he stood outside the door of his father's office. This was the conversation he was really dreading. Nothing was good enough for his father, who had valued Princeton over Yale, and academics over sports. Ben loved football, and was proud that it made up part of his scholarship. Yale had been his first choice and of course, he valued writing over politics or law. This was going to be difficult, mostly because of the words and accusations they had been throwing at one another all summer.

Finally he worked up the courage. He knocked at the door.

"Come in." His father's voice was curt on the other side.

Ben turned the handle and let himself into his father's study, or office, whatever he wanted to call it. Peter Bruckner was seated behind his desk with briefs and other legal documents Ben couldn't name piled high on the desk in front of him. He scarcely looked up as Ben closed the door behind him. He didn't sit down, just leaned back against the door.

Finally he spoke, "To be honest, I'm surprised to see you back so soon."

"I would have stayed away longer if it was possible," Ben admitted.

Peter Bruckner put down his pen and looked up. "Well, you're here now so I want to talk to you about a few things. First and foremost, if you ever speak to me that way again-"

"I know. Mom already threatened me. And I am sorry. Most of what I said you didn't deserve. The sarcasm and the yelling about school was childish. I'll admit that. It certainly wasn't right of me to curse at you like I did."

"You're right," his father said, "I'd better not hear you do it again."

"Yes, Sir," Ben nodded in agreement. After the two of them remained silent for a few moments he spoke again, "But Mom told me that I had to come down here and talk to you, so I'm going to get past my apologies and just lay everything out for you at once."

His father raised an eyebrow. "Alright Ben."

"I don't want you talking about Michael anymore, not when he can't defend himself."

"I can't help how I feel."

"But it would be different if he was a girl, wouldn't it?"

"I've told you time and time again, I've accepted that you're gay."

"That wasn't what I asked."

There was a long, drawn out silence in which the two of them stared at one another.

"Yes," he said finally, "it would."

Ben nodded. He hadn't expected that to sting quite as much as it did. He'd known for a while that his father wasn't completely supportive but there were so many worse things he could be doing with his life.

"Anything else?"

"School." His voice caught on the word and he cleared his throat. "I stand behind everything I said yesterday. If you want to stop paying for school that's fine. I made the president's list last semester. I'm the top student in the English department. I have a feeling they would offer me some more scholarships."

His father nodded briefly.

"Also, I am not going to change my major."

"Ben-"

"Stop. I'm not. It's a really simple concept to grasp. Dad, I like writing. I am good at it. You like politics and law, that's great, but they're never going to be something I could even think about doing. I have a plan. I'm sticking to it, whether you approve or not. So, if you're going to keep telling me what a mistake I'm making we might as well just not talk while I'm home."

His father stared.

Again the silence was painful, and he was afraid of what his father would say when he finally found his words. He could deal with not talking to his father. He opened the door and stepped outside, closing it again behind him.

He waited for a moment and didn't hear any movement from the other side of the door. That was it then; that's how things were going to be. He could accept that.

As he walked across the hardwood floor in the hall and the sound of his shoes echoed and the sound only seemed to be magnified. This had the possibility of being a really awkward summer. When he finally reached his bedroom he collapsed onto the bed, kicking off his shoes and burying his face in a pillow. The next two days were going to be miserable, especially considering he couldn't just escape as he had been.

He'd call work tomorrow; see about getting a shift or two.

For now he was exhausted. He missed school where he had time built into his schedule for a nap. Today it was just coming about because he had nothing else to do. He could go down to the clubs with the guys tonight and forget about all of this shit.

-

There were long silences in Vic's apartment. That was all the two of them could really muster, all they would be able to do while they waited for Monday to roll around, and for the results after that.

Vic ordered takeout or cooked. He went to work and came back, but Michael couldn't go anywhere. Vic worked early again on Saturday and came back upstairs with mail, handing Michael a small yellow package.

"A gift from your friend down in the Pitts."

Michael frowned as he tore open the package, but smiled as he found what Brian had sent him. Comics, four of them, all new issues he'd yet to read.

"I'm going to order pizza for dinner in a few hours. Do you want anything now?"

"No," Michael replied, heading for his room. He closed his door happy to cut off contact. He was struck with fear every time he looked at Vic. His uncle was his hero, but this was… potentially life threatening, and just scared the shit out of him.

He opened up the comic books to just forget.

X-men. Batman. Superman. He saved Captain Astro for last. It was kind of sad, he realized that, a seventeen year old spending an afternoon reading comic books. He knew how they went by now. They'd save the world only to learn a lesson in the process. It was comforting and a constant unlike almost anything else in his life.

He was worried about his mother, about Vic, permanently about Brian. Now he was worried about Ben too. He had been upset when he'd shown up on Thursday, and he could see that he hadn't wanted to go home when Vic had kicked him out. He had almost called but was afraid of his parents' reaction toward him. Ben had only started having problems with them this summer and despite the fact that Ben promised his mother liked Michael he was afraid Ben's dad would answer the phone.

This week Captain Astro saved a friend of Galaxy Lad's, a young man whose failure had made him a source of ridicule. He'd gone and tried to show off, becoming involved with the wrong people and involving himself in a villainous plot.

As he set the comic aside he collapsed back onto the bed. He wished real life was like that, that he could know everything was going to turn out all right. There was so much that could go wrong right now; he didn't even want to think about it.

Placing the comics on a table he caught sight of the packet of paper sitting there. He was afraid of reading it, Ben's writing, afraid that he wouldn't like it, that it would be too far over his head in terms of language. He pulled it to the bed in front of him and looked down at the first page. Ben's name was listed in the left hand corner and under it was a title that meant nothing to him. He began to read.

_It took one hundred and three days for me to come out to my parents after I decided that I would need to do so. Fear crawled up and down my spine and over every inch of my flesh twenty-four hours a day. It wasn't that I had ever seen either of them act particularly homophobic, but I think that it was something more innate than that. _

_I think__ that a fear builds up inside of everyone when they discover that they aren't quite like everyone else. Being different has never been smiled upon. Even those who led to change were only accepted after success became part of the plan. The fear built, along with a suspicion that I didn't really know the people I love the most. I was afraid that my father, who I had respected more than anyone else for so much of my life, would be disappointed in me. I also feared upsetting my mother's fantasy of a brood of grandchildren._

_I started by telling a friend, a guy I had been close to since elementary school. He'd taken it well, an I-thought-so and a shrug of his shoulders. It was over just like that, with no great fanfare. The next weekend, as always, I was on the park playing basketball with him and everyone else. So I told another friend. And another. And another. It became easier every time._

_And then I told someone who disapproved. I realized it almost immediately, when he stopped coming to sit with us at lunch, when he stopped joining the pickup games of basketball and football. It stung. I really did get upset over it, especially when I heard him tell coach that he 'wasn't going to play with no queer come the fall.'_

_My parents noticed. They asked what was wrong. Still stinging from the pain of rejection I was so afraid to tell them, but I bit my tongue and forced myself to sit down with them one night. 'I'm gay.' The words fell out of my mouth so easily that I can hardly believe that it was me saying them._

Michael continued to read; captivated by the way Ben strung the words along on the page. He was almost afraid to tear his eyes away.

The words seemed so personal that Michael could barely imagine sharing these words with anyone. Granted his own mother had told him that he was gay and Brian's response had simply been 'why the hell did you think I was friends with you,' but it all just seemed too close.

He swore that he could hear Ben's voice saying these words, which made him miss him all the more. Now he could see why Ben had been so wary about having him read it. He could also see that Ben was amazingly talented.

He continued on, so engrossed in the story that when Vic was suddenly standing in front of him he literally jumped.

Amused, Vic raised an eyebrow, "Pizza's here."

"Okay," Michael nodded, marking his place with one of the comics that Brian had sent him. There was no way that he would finish it all before he saw Ben the next day but it was definitely a way to pass the time and avoid awkward conversations with Vic.

* * *

-

Ben was happier than usual when he got out of work on Monday afternoon, to finally be able to see Michael again. He could hardly imagine what it would be like to go for months without seeing him. He let himself into the building and began heading up the stairs, running headlong into Brandon as he rounded a corner.

Normally he would have just given a quick hello but Brandon was as white as a ghost and barely seemed to see him.

"Bran?" he reached out a hand to stop his friend, "You okay?"

He started at the sound of Ben's voice but covered quickly, in a voice that shook, "H-hey Benny."

"Brandon, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He shook his head.

Ben tightened his hold on his friend's arm as Brandon went to move past him.

"We've been friends for a long time. You can't expect me to believe that."

Brandon stared at him, "Sam just tested positive."

Ben's stomach clenched. HIV was a frightening disease but it had never struck nearly this close to his part of the community before. And to have it possibly happen to Brandon? He wrapped his arms around his friend to have him hug back.

"You're always safe, though," he said. Brandon had given him countless lectures.

"Almost always."

Ben winced. He was reminded of the lecture Vic had given him and Michael the week before. That's when the pieces fit together. Sam had slept with Vic. And Vic knew.

His stomach turned again. Had Vic told Michael? Had he gotten tested? Were there results?

"That doesn't mean it's definite. Go down to the clinic." His voice sounded a lot steadier than he felt.

Brandon nodded, "I will soon."

"Why not today?"

"I've got some stuff at work."

Ben stared. Since when did work trump Brandon's health, or his sex life for that matter.

"Brandon…"

"Ben, I'm going to be late for work. I'll talk to you later in the week. Make sure to say hi to Michael for me." With that he was gone, hurrying down the stairs, leaving Ben alone feeling like a weight was pressing down heavily on his chest.

Michael was engrossed in his reading when there was a knock at the door. The narrative and his comics went back to their place on his desk before he hurried across the apartment. When he opened the door Ben stepped in, hugging him tightly.

Michael was a bit surprised but hugged him back. "What's up?"

Ben shook his head as they parted, as though shaking himself out of a daze, "Missed you, that's all."

Michael could tell that more than that was going on but wasn't sure what to say. He'd promised Vic that he wasn't going to say anything to Ben, although it would make their discussion on Friday so much clearer. When Ben leaned down to kiss him he couldn't help but relax.

"Long weekend?" Ben asked.

Michael nodded.

"For me too." He agreed, "How's Vic?"

Michael froze. Ben didn't tend to ask questions like that. Did he know something?

"He's still a little pissed at us, but I think he'll be happy you're here so I stop moping around the apartment."

Ben let a grin tug at the corners of his mouth. Despite the lump sitting in the bottom of his stomach he was happy to see Michael.

"I have to tell you something," he said, nodding in the direction of Michael's room.

"Okay." Even though Vic wasn't home he walked into his room, Ben following, and sat down on the bed.

Ben leaned back against the window frame. He looked around only to notice that his narrative was lying open on the desk. He almost wanted to ask Michael what he thought but the news he had was more pressing.

"Sam Patterson," he said, "the trick that Vic's been seeing lately, he ummm… he's been fooling around with Brandon for a few months too. I kind of think he might have said something to Vic last week because he called Brandon this morning."

"Ben." Michael knew what was coming.

"Sam tested positive for HIV."

"I know."

Ben was stunned. "You know?"

Michael nodded slowly, "Vic told me after you left. He umm… he's getting tested today. He didn't want me to say anything about it, but since you already know I guess I can't really do much harm."

"Michael, I'm so sorry."

Michael shook his head, "I don't know what to say to him, even if he does end up being negative, and I can't talk to Brian about it because he'll tell my mom and she's already got enough on her plate for the moment."

Ben stared at his shoes as an uncomfortable silence fell over them.

"How's Brandon?"

Ben looked up into Michael's face. His eyes were dark with concern.

"He's freaked," Ben sighed, "Doesn't want to go and get tested. I don't think I can say that I blame him, but at the same time_ I_ really want to know that he doesn't have it. It's selfish but I…"

Michael nodded in understanding.

"I'm scared," Michael said after a few moments.

Ben took a few shallow breaths and moved over to sit next to Michael on the bed. "Me too."

Michael relaxed against him and they sat there together thinking about their own mortality as time passed.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, so I'm bad at posting chapters here. I actually haven't started writing the next chapter yet, but I have some idea of where it is going. My goal is to get two more chapters up by finals. So, hopefully I'll get some writing done this weekend and next weekend. Hope you're all enjoying. And Cards, I'm sure you're reading this, leave a review.

Thanks again,

-Megan


End file.
